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Covid-19: Ethnic Minority Disparities
01 March 2021
Lead MP
Kemi Badenoch
Debate Type
Ministerial Statement
Tags
Economy
Other Contributors: 31
At a Glance
Kemi Badenoch raised concerns about covid-19: ethnic minority disparities in the House of Commons. A government minister responded. Other MPs also contributed.
How the Debate Unfolded
MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said:
Government Statement
The Minister of State for Equalities, Kemi Badenoch, announced the publication of her second quarterly report on understanding and tackling disparities in COVID-19 experienced by ethnic minority groups. The first wave data showed that black African men were significantly more likely to die from COVID-19 compared to white British men but this disparity has changed in the second wave where certain south Asian communities have higher mortality rates due primarily to differences in exposure and infection. Her report emphasises the importance of considering socio-economic factors such as overcrowded living conditions and challenges with self-isolation faced by ethnic minorities. Over 20 million people, including those from at-risk groups, have been vaccinated. The government has released £23.75 million under the community champions scheme and an additional £4.5 million for research projects focusing on health, social, cultural, and economic impacts of COVID-19 on ethnic minority communities. She concluded by outlining future steps and committed to updating the Prime Minister on progress.
Battersea
Question
Asked what steps the government is taking to protect ethnic minorities, especially south Asian communities who are more likely to die from COVID-19 during the second wave. Also questioned about addressing historical mistrust and vaccine uptake among ethnic minority groups and funding distribution for community champions.
Minister reply
The Minister responded that targeted guidance has been issued to occupations with larger Pakistani and Bangladeshi workforces, and efforts have been made to promote vaccine uptake by working with religious leaders. She stated the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities report is due imminently and provided updates on data recording and equality impact assessments.
Caroline Nokes
Con
Romsey and Southampton North
Question
Asked if female voices in south Asian communities, such as those from the Muslim Women’s Network UK, are being reached to increase vaccine uptake.
Minister reply
The Minister confirmed they will ensure that community organisations include these groups and liaise with them to promote vaccine awareness.
Kirsten Oswald
SNP
West Tyrone
Question
There is clear evidence of both higher covid-19 infection and higher mortality rates among people from ethnic minority backgrounds, as well as greater pandemic-related economic damage affecting these diverse groups. I also know from my own constituency that the no recourse to public funds policy locks many people, including children, out of vital support. Will the Minister urge her colleagues in the UK Government to review this damaging and discriminatory policy, which has such a disproportionate impact on BAME families? Debate on economic inequality is often undermined by a lack of reliable data. Will the Minister follow the recommendations of the Women and Equalities Committee and publish proposals for the introduction of ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting? Will she also back calls for equality impact assessments to be published for the coronavirus job retention scheme and the self-employment income support scheme, as well as the introduction of redundancy pay gap reporting by protected characteristics?
Minister reply
With regard to the support that the Government are providing to those who have no recourse to public funds, many of the wide-ranging covid-19 measures that the Government have put in place are available to migrants with no recourse to public funds, such as the coronavirus job retention scheme, the self-employment income support scheme and support allowances that are not classed as public funds. In addition, we temporarily extended free school meals to include some groups who have no recourse to public funds. As I have said to the hon. Lady’s Scottish National party colleagues, and probably to her as well, it is really important that we do not conflate ethnic minorities with recent migrants; they are two completely distinct groups and it is wrong to mix them up in this way. We are ensuring that we are providing support to those who are most vulnerable and who need it most.
Maria Miller
Con
Basingstoke
Question
I welcome my hon. Friend’s recent report and all that she is doing. Will she join me in recognising the role of local community leadership in addressing these differences in vaccine take-up? For instance, in my own community, Grace Powell from Basingstoke Caribbean Society, Kishor Patel from Basingstoke Hindu Society and Poonam Gurung from Basingstoke Nepalese Community are all publicly advocating vaccination as the best way to keep the whole community safe.
Minister reply
My right hon. Friend raises a very good point. I congratulate all of her constituents who are doing important work in the community by raising awareness of what is happening with covid-19, and ensuring that people have access to the best advice and guidance. It is critical that we continue to support those community champions. That is one of the reasons that we are funding the community champions scheme, which ensures that we improve the reach of official public health guidance and other messaging or communications about the virus into those hard-to-reach areas.
Wera Hobhouse
Lib Dem
Bath
Question
In the year to September 2020, the drop in employment for people from ethnic minorities was 26 times higher than for white workers. Unless the Government take meaningful action to address workforce inequalities, including the ethnicity pay gap, the fall-out from covid will make these glaring inequalities even worse. May I ask again: will the Government finally commit to bringing forward the long-awaited ethnicity pay gap reporting?
Minister reply
I believe that we have answered this question before; if memory serves me correctly, I think I have written to the hon. Lady on this subject. It is something that the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities is looking at. The commission will be reporting shortly and will be able to give a statement on ethnicity pay reporting. I would like the hon. Lady to send me her statistics about workforce inequality; they are not statistics with which I am familiar, and it would be very interesting to look at the evidence base on that.
Robbie Moore
Con
Keighley and Ilkley
Question
The vaccine roll-out is the best tool in our fight against covid-19, and we must do all we can to ensure that there are no racial disparities in its uptake. This Saturday, I was lucky enough to visit Keighley central mosque, where 525 vaccinations were delivered on that day alone. Will my hon. Friend join me in congratulating all those involved, particularly Mohammed Nazam from Keighley Muslim Association, and the Modality Partnership, for all their efforts to ensure that everyone is protected against covid-19?
Minister reply
I agree with my hon. Friend, and add my congratulations to Keighley Muslim Association on its success, and particularly to Mohammed Nazam. Working with religious leaders and others to promote vaccine uptake among ethnic minorities, including housing vaccination centres in mosques and other places of worship, is important to ensure that we achieve good vaccine coverage within these groups. The NHS has now opened 47 vaccination sites in places of worship and community centres, as this boosts perceptions of vaccine safety and improves access.
Navendu Mishra
Lab
Stockport
Question
Polling by HOPE not hate found that black people were more likely than any other group to blame a previous bad experience with the health system as justification for not wanting the vaccine. What steps will the Minister take to build trust in black communities who have experienced structural racism in the health system?
Minister reply
The Government are doing everything they can to improve vaccine confidence and reduce vaccine hesitancy. Vaccines are the best way to protect people from coronavirus and save thousands of lives, and we want every eligible person to benefit from the offer of a free vaccine, no matter their ethnicity or religious beliefs. The Department of Health and Social Care and the NHS are working closely with black, Asian and minority ethnic communities to support those receiving a vaccine.
Kieran Mullan
Con
Bexhill and Battle
Question
Does the Minister agree that vaccines are the best way for people from ethnic minority backgrounds to protect themselves from the harmful effects of covid? Can she update us on the latest work that her Department is doing to support that?
Minister reply
I can. We must stress that there is light at the end of the tunnel, and as the vaccine roll-out continues, I urge everyone who is offered one to take the opportunity to protect themselves, their family and their community. It is important that we tackle misinformation in particular. Across Government, we are spending tens of millions of pounds on public health communications.
Diane Abbott
Ind
Hackney North and Stoke Newington
Question
The Minister is insistent that the wildly disproportionate rate of infection and death among black, Asian and minority ethnic communities has nothing to do with the fact that they are black, Asian or from a minority ethnic group. Has it occurred to her that the fact that they are more likely to be in overcrowded, poor housing conditions and in the types of job that leave them liable to infection is not random, but is to do with race and ethnicity? Will the Minister do more in the area of data? First, will she speak to colleagues about having ethnicity routinely put on death certificates? Can we have more information on the Haredi and ultra-orthodox Jewish communities, who have had disproportionate levels of deaths from covid in America? Will she speak to Public Health England to make sure that local directors of public health make constituency-level data, particularly on ethnicity, available to constituency stakeholders, including Members of Parliament?
Minister reply
I thank the right hon. Lady for her question. I wish that she had actually read my reports, because she would have seen that I addressed that not just in the October report, but in the one that came out last week. Recording ethnicity data on death certificates was one of the recommendations in my previous report. It is not something that can be done overnight—it will probably require legislation—but we are on our way to getting it, so that is some good news.
Question
Commends the Minister for encouraging vaccine uptake and asks about the Government's view on accusations of structural racism causing disparities among ethnic minorities.
Minister reply
Acknowledges that racism exists, but emphasises that issues experienced by ethnic minorities are not assumed to be caused solely by racism without evidence. Reiterates condemnation of racism.
Question
Praises the Aylesbury mosque for its efforts in spreading accurate messages about vaccines and asks if the Minister agrees that faith groups have a vital role.
Minister reply
Agrees with the MP's statement, thanks the Aylesbury mosque for their work, and mentions NHS vaccination sites in places of worship.
Question
Asks if inequality of policing outcomes will be included in quarterly reports as well as health outcomes.
Minister reply
Explains that the report focuses on health perspectives but acknowledges the importance of discussing this issue, especially with the upcoming Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities.
Question
Acknowledges the Minister's efforts in leading the agenda forward to address disparities caused by the second wave.
Minister reply
Confirms that Government will retain focus on vulnerable groups as they unlock with their road map, aiming for equality across all groups.
Question
Asks about accountability mechanisms to monitor pilot schemes addressing inequalities in maternal mortality and guarantees the rollout of these pilots.
Minister reply
Acknowledges Health Ministers' efforts, mentions ongoing support from race disparity unit, and highlights NHS campaign 'Help us help you'.
Question
Expresses concern about low vaccination take-up among BAME communities in Burton and urges for resources to ensure more clinics in areas with lower take-up.
Minister reply
Stresses importance of accessible public health messages and local efforts. Mentions communication through religious and community leaders.
Question
Asks if £4.5 million research funding is being spent on the impact of career paths for frontline workers removed from their posts.
Minister reply
Recalls previous discussion, mentions raising concerns about career impacts and offers to write with full details.
Question
Describes a successful vaccine roundtable and asks if the Minister will continue supporting community leaders for wider message dissemination.
Minister reply
Reiterates commitment, mentions evaluating effectiveness of schemes through progress reports from participating local authorities.
Zarah Sultana
Lab
Coventry South
Question
When I challenged the Minister on the disproportionate impact of covid-19 on black and minority ethnic groups after the first wave of the virus, the Minister denied that systemic injustice was to blame. This new report shows that, in the second wave, Bangladeshi and Pakistani people were three times more likely to die from covid, and that black and minority ethnic communities as a whole are still significantly disproportionately in critical care with it. Does the Minister now acknowledge that it is systemic injustice that black and minority ethnic communities face from higher rates of poverty and overcrowded housing to higher rates of frontline work and barriers to accessing healthcare?
Minister reply
I think it is a really interesting question that the hon. Lady has asked. She says that I dismissed the claim that systemic injustice was to blame, but the fact is that we did not know what was to blame at that time. That was in June, three months before my report. What we need to understand is what exactly we mean by systemic and structural. We have seen that the data show that, at some point, ethnic minority gaps in terms of disproportionate impact completely disappeared. If these were structural issues, that is not what we would expect to see.
Question
Does my hon. Friend share my regret that some Members opposite have unfortunately promoted some disinformation about the effectiveness of covid-19 vaccines, which may have contributed to lower take-up in some communities, and does she agree that elected members, whether in local or national Government, all have a responsibility to not undermine the vaccine roll-out, which has already protected over 20 million of our most vulnerable people?
Minister reply
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We in this House must recognise that we have positions of responsibility. I think I have said before at this Dispatch Box that while it might be fun to get lots of retweets for promoting messages targeting the confidence that people have in the vaccine, it is definitely not something that we should see elected parliamentarians doing.
Question
Thirty thousand black, Asian and minority ethnic people live across the northern and western counties of Wales. Dispersed rural communities such as these are harder for health authorities to reach and may not have the same density of support networks as communities in urban areas. What discussions has the Department had with colleagues and the Welsh Government to ensure that in particular black, Asian and minority ethnic people in rural Wales and indeed across rural UK have access to the information and support they need to get their vaccination?
Minister reply
I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising that matter. It is important. A lot of what we do is focused on NHS England, but I can assure him that we work with partners across all the devolved Administrations. For example, I have been at Covid-O meetings at which we spoke to representatives of the Welsh Government who were aware of these issues.
Question
I warmly commend and support my hon. Friend for the work that she has done on covid disparities. She is right to say that we must go where the data tells us. Can she confirm that across all age groups and all ethnicities men are far more likely to be hospitalised and killed by the virus than women? In the 40 to 49 age group, men are twice as likely to suffer critical illness. Why is that, and what are the implications for the Government response to the pandemic?
Minister reply
My hon. Friend asks a very important question, and he is absolutely right. We know that the virus targets different groups differently, but we do not necessarily have all the answers. Some of the issues around the disproportionate impact on men are to do with occupational risk, which is not something we can control for very easily.
Question
We know that one of the drivers of the spread of covid-19 is people being unable to self-isolate, because they cannot afford to miss work. That is a particular problem for people in insecure or zero-hours contract jobs. Black, Asian and minority-ethnic people are more likely to be on those contracts, so are less likely to qualify for sick pay. If we want to drive down covid-19 rates everyone needs to be able to self-isolate, so will the Minister work with her colleagues to expand eligibility for the self-isolation support payment to everyone who needs it?
Minister reply
What I can tell the hon. Lady is that, certainly in the Treasury, we look at how different groups are being impacted to make sure that we target help on those who are most vulnerable. All the various schemes—not just the ones that I have mentioned such as the self-employment income support scheme or the CJRS but others such as kickstarter—are targeted at the groups that are most vulnerable.
Question
I thank my hon. Friend for all that she is doing to help the message to reach our ethnic minorities. While the Government follow the science the Opposition have called for 10 different employment groups to move up the priority list, which the JCVI has said would slow vaccine roll-out. Does she agree that that would risk needlessly exposing vulnerable people to harm for longer, and that it shows that the Labour party is more interested in chasing headlines than following the science?
Minister reply
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We need to prioritise those who are most vulnerable, and if every single group believes that it deserves priority, that means we are not carrying out any prioritisation at all. The JCVI is independent, and we feed information into it.
Tulip Siddiq
Lab
Hampstead and Highgate
Question
In a speech last year, I pointed out that, despite being at higher risk from covid-19, people from black African and Caribbean backgrounds made up only 0.5% of those taking part in vaccine trials. I warned that that trend might be seen in a vaccine roll-out without a proper plan to tackle disinformation and boost confidence. The data and my own experience of volunteering at my local vaccination centre suggest that my worst fears have been realised. Bearing that in mind, can the Minister explain why it was only last month that a vaccine take-up plan was published and MPs were contacted to help?
Minister reply
I am afraid the hon. Lady is confusing one initiative for helping to improve vaccine take-up with the vaccine take-up plan. I wrote to her in October, asking her to take part in the vaccine trials.
Question
I recently visited the vaccination centre at St Charles’ Hospital in North Kensington, and while I was there I was delighted to see that the majority of patients getting the jabs were from ethnic minorities. We have also seen a pop-up centre at the mosque, Al-Minaar, in North Kensington. Does my hon. Friend agree that we need to focus on discrete individual communities to ensure that vaccine take-up is as high as possible?
Minister reply
I agree with my hon. Friend, and that is one of the reasons we are discouraging the use of the term “BAME” when talking about these issues, as this conflates lots of different communities.
Ruth Cadbury
Lab
Brentford and Isleworth
Question
Will the Minister outline the application process for, and the distribution of, community champion funding? How will highly diverse boroughs like Hounslow which did not receive funding benefit from that investment in the future?
Minister reply
Our methodology drew on a wide range of data sources including long-term data from the DHSC and Public Health England on covid-19 incidence, data on social integration, and evidence on the prevalence and specific support needs of, for example, disabled people in an area. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has funded voluntary community and social enterprises to carry out national communication and engagement activities including health promotion and encouraging vaccine uptake. Best practice is shared across local areas and communities will benefit even if they do not receive specific funding.
Question
I commend the Minister and her Department for their efforts in encouraging the vaccine take-up for all. For my constituents in Redcar and Cleveland, one of the biggest hurdles is the distance to the local mass vaccine centre, which in some cases is more than 25 miles. Will she join me in calling on the Government to roll out a mass vaccine centre in Teesside, so that we can encourage take-up for all?
Minister reply
I am sorry to hear about the difficulties people are facing due to distance from the local mass vaccine centre and I will take up this issue on behalf of my hon. Friend.
Layla Moran
Lib Dem
Oxford West and Abingdon
Question
The Minister will know that an effective test, trace and isolate system is key to protecting all communities from the virus, especially for those in overcrowded households. Why have we not introduced free hotel accommodation as a standard here in the UK?
Minister reply
I thank the hon. Lady for her question. The vaccine is the route out of the pandemic. Isolation payments are available for those unable to work and financially impacted by isolation requirements.
Mike Wood
Con
Kingswinford and South Staffordshire
Question
I welcome the Government’s decision to ensure that all adults on the learning and disability register are prioritised for a covid-19 vaccine. Can my hon. Friend confirm that everyone who is on their GP’s learning and disability register will now be invited for their jab, providing protection to those at higher risk from the virus?
Minister reply
Yes, we will invite all adults on their GP’s learning and disability register as part of cohort 6 recommendations by the JCVI. This ensures that those with severe and profound learning disabilities are prioritised for vaccination.
Question
The no recourse to public funds policy is locking thousands of people out of vital support, disproportionately impacting black and minority ethnic families. Does the Minister intend to urge the UK Government to review their NRPF policy?
Minister reply
I refer the hon. Lady to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for East Renfrewshire (Kirsten Oswald), who asked an identical question.
Shadow Comment
Marsha de Cordova
Shadow Comment
The Labour MP Marsha de Cordova questioned the Minister's conclusion that ethnicity is not a risk factor for COVID-19, arguing it cannot be separated from socio-economic factors such as overcrowded homes and ineffective self-isolation. She highlighted low vaccine uptake among ethnic minorities due to mistrust and historical health inequalities. She asked about plans to address these issues including promoting vaccine acceptance through community champions and releasing localised data on those not taking the vaccine. De Cordova also criticised limited funding distribution, questioning when equality impact assessments will be published and when the report from the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities would finally be released.
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