Select committee: Women and Equalities Committee
Recommendation 1
Third Report: Unequal impact? Coronavirus and BAME people
Published 15 Dec 2020
Paragraph 19
Addressed to Government Equalities Office
Women and Equalities Committee Unequal impact? Coronavirus and BAME people All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
Comorbidities pose a risk for BAME people to experience coronavirus more severely and, at times, with adverse health outcomes. To tackle comorbidities, primary prevention should be prioritised. We are concerned that the decision to disband Public Health England could result in a gap in the prevention work that is already underway. We recommend that the NHS Health Check, which is currently for 40 to 70-year olds, should be extended to people from a BAME background from the age of 25 years for at least the next two years. We also recommend that the Government’s obesity strategy is culturally appropriate. The Government must ensure that any work undertaken in this area is not lost when Public Health England is disbanded.
From: Women and Equalities Committee, Third Report: Unequal impact? Coronavirus and BAME people (HC 384), paragraph 19, 15 December 2020
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 5 March 2021.
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government's response addresses each recommendation separately, agreeing that the COVID-19 recovery must address health inequalities while declining or not adopting several specific proposals, including the NHS Health Check age change and a new overcrowding strategy.
- On health inequalities, the government "agrees that the COVID-19 recovery must be undertaken in a way that addresses health inequalities", but it does not say it will implement the Marmot recommendations in full.
- On extending NHS Health Checks to BAME people from age 25, the government says it "would be inappropriate" to adopt the recommendation "at this stage", because an ongoing review is considering the appropriate starting age.
- On a strategy to reduce overcrowding, the government "recognises the Committee’s findings on overcrowding, but does not accept the recommendation", citing work already underway. It also says it is "not appropriate" to take work forward on a separate housing conditions strategy, citing duplication and delay.
- On Universal Credit ethnicity data, the Department for Work and Pensions says it "does not have the legal power to mandate" this, and that primary legislation would be required. On Statutory Sick Pay for zero-hours workers, it says extension would require new primary legislation.