Source · Select Committees · Work and Pensions Committee
Recommendation 32
32
Paragraph: 146
There is no clear evidence which explains why disabled people have a considerably raised risk...
Recommendation
There is no clear evidence which explains why disabled people have a considerably raised risk of death from coronavirus. There is a need for further research to investigate the extent to which disabled people’s experiences in the workplace may play a part in this. We recommend that DWP work with HSE to commission research to better understand whether there is a link between occupational settings and the raised risk of death from coronavirus for disabled people.
Paragraph Reference:
146
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
Recommendation We recommend that DWP work with HSE to commission research to better understand whether there is a link between occupational settings and the raised risk of death from coronavirus for disabled people. Response Analysis has already been undertaken, by the ONS, to estimate the association between self-reported disability and deaths involving COVID-19. The following article concluded that a combination of factors (residence type, geography, socio-demographics, and health conditions) partly explained the increased risk for disabled people. Deaths involving COVID-19 by disability status: a retrospective analysis of 29 million adults during the first two waves of the Coronavirus pandemic in England | medRxiv More generally the ONS concluded that people in certain occupations had an increased risk of death involving COVID-19. • men who worked in elementary occupations or caring, leisure and other service occupations had the highest rates of death involving COVID-19, with 66.3 and 64.1 deaths per 100,000 males, respectively. • women who worked in as process, plant, and machine operatives or in caring, leisure and other service occupations had the highest rates of death involving COVID-19 when looking at broad occupational groups, with 33.7 and 27.3 deaths per 100,000 females, respectively. Coronavirus (COVID-19) related deaths by occupation, England and Wales - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)