Public Health England Review: Covid-19 Disparities

Debate between Baroness Berridge and Baroness Quin

Monday 8th June 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Berridge [V]]

My Lords, the PHE review indeed makes it clear that those who are in the most deprived neighbourhoods are more likely to die as a result of Covid-19 than those who are in more affluent areas. The Minister for Health outlined on 4 March that the Government are committed to levelling up and to looking at health inequalities, particularly in deprived neighbourhoods where we see early-onset diseases and avoidable mortality at their highest rates. The Government are committed to getting to the bottom of that and to acting upon it.

[Baroness Quin (Lab) [V]]

My Lords, Table 2.1 in the review shows that in the north-east a greater proportion of the excess deaths were due directly to Covid-19 than elsewhere. It also seems that our least well-off communities were the worst affected. I echo the calls of my noble friend Lady Hayter and the noble Baroness, Lady Pidding, for action to be taken on the basis of not just this report but all the other work that has been done on health inequalities, particularly by Professor Marmot and his review.

[Baroness Berridge [V]]

I assure noble Lords that the excellent work of Professor Sir Michael Marmot over the last 10 years or so will be reviewed and worked on by the Minister for Equalities, looking at all the different impacts and inequalities the virus has exposed in our communities.