Select committee: Women and Equalities Committee
Recommendation 1
1st Report - Unequal impact? Coronavirus, disability and access to services: interim Report on temporary provisions in the Coronavirus Act
Published 25 Sep 2020
Paragraph 18
Addressed to Government Equalities Office
Women and Equalities Committee Unequal impact? Coronavirus, disability and access to services All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
We were unable properly to scrutinise the effects of Care Act easements on disabled people because there are no published data, for example on the number and categories of people, or the types of social care services, affected. The Government must demonstrate that it is keeping local authorities’ use of Care Act easements under thorough review and allow for proper scrutiny of data on the effects on disabled people. We welcome the Government’s commitment to publishing Think Local Act Personal’s report on the effects as part of the six-monthly review process. We urge the Government to ensure the report and all the accompanying data are published before the forthcoming six-monthly review and vote in the House, and each subsequent six- monthly review debate and vote, on temporary Coronavirus Act provisions, so that they can be used to inform the debates.
From: Women and Equalities Committee, 1st Report - Unequal impact? Coronavirus, disability and access to services: interim Report on temporary provisions in the Coronavirus Act (HC 386), paragraph 18, 25 September 2020
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 25 January 2021.
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government "welcomes the Committee's interim recommendations" and sets out actions taken on Care Act easements, the Mental Health Act and EHC plans, while describing the existing parliamentary review arrangements as "flexible and proportionate".
- On Care Act easements, the government says they "should only be used when absolutely necessary", that no local authorities are currently operating under them, and that the changes "will be kept under regular review".
- The Mental Health Act provisions were repealed from the Coronavirus Act on 8 December 2020. On reform, the government will publish a White Paper "as soon as it is possible to do so".
- On EHC plans, no further modification notice was issued after 31 July. The government does not intend to issue further notices "unless the evidence changes".
- On a separate Commons view on individual provisions, the government describes the existing arrangements, including the six-monthly vote, as "a flexible and proportionate response" that ensures ongoing scrutiny.