Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (No. 2) (England) (Amendment) (No. 5) Regulations 2020

Baroness Uddin Excerpts

Tuesday 20th October 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Uddin (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, it is a pleasure to congratulate the noble Baroness, Lady Fox. In our younger days we shared many platforms in the antiracist movement. Of course, that was before she departed completely from my political principles, but I look forward to working with her on common grounds.

The Government must lead by consensus, with clarity of messages and adequate financial support for the millions of our citizens who are experiencing such draconian measures, financial collapse, and strain on their mental and physical well-being. The spat with Mayor Burnham has certainly taken attention away from the serious impact of these regulations, including the lack of an effective test, trace and track system.

From the outset, the Government have been utterly inconsistent in their dealings with leaders of local authorities, many of which are facing massive reductions in basic services for the elderly and people with disabilities, and the decimation of voluntary organisations that have been the backbone—the bedrock, actually—of vulnerable communities. Some local authorities are facing bankruptcy, as the noble Lord is well aware. The collapse of the hospitality sector and associated businesses has had a profound impact on local authorities, as has been mentioned, and will continue to have such an impact unless the Government provide sufficient financial measures for them in their critical role in underpinning and delivering these protection measures.

[The Deputy Speaker (Baroness Fookes) (Con)]

I understand the noble Baroness, Lady Gardner of Parkes, has withdrawn, so the next speaker will be the noble Lord, Lord Bhatia.

Health Protection (Coronavirus, Local COVID-19 Alert Level) (Medium) (England) Regulations 2020

Baroness Uddin Excerpts

Wednesday 14th October 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Uddin (Non-Afl) [V]]

My Lords, it is a real privilege to follow my noble friends Lord Robertson and Lord Rooker. Tiered approaches may seem fit for the purpose now, as we deal with differing rates in admissions across the country and across boroughs in London. However, it has to be said that the rapid rate of government announcements has caused manic confusion among the general public. I agree with the noble Lord, Lord Bilimoria, that clarity in message is critical. Even in areas described as medium risk, there is a deepening fear that we are about to hit a catastrophic health crisis without sufficient financial measures for significant numbers of our citizens—vulnerable citizens and communities. I have some general questions for the Minister and I look forward to his consideration and responses.

What specific measures are in place to protect front-line staff with protected characteristics? Will the Government assure this House that, unlike in the first few weeks and months, front-line staff of minority heritage will not be pushed into Covid management without safeguarding their well-being? I am citing many who lost their loved ones during the first outbreak. Given that we know people of minority heritage continue to be at risk of ending up in ICU admissions, will the Government ensure that those doing test and trace door to door have proficiency in the languages for the populations there? What additional resources will be given to areas in the middle tier to prevent them going to the more critical grade?

We also know that families with disabled children who have learning disabilities and autism, and their carers, have experienced adverse impacts in services and their mental well-being. What plans and resources are in place to meet the upcoming needs for services to ensure that we meet our obligations on human rights and equal rights? I have asked this question before and it has not been answered. What protocols exist to ensure that parents and carers of people with learning disabilities and autism can be with their loved ones, should they wish to be, when members of their families end up in hospital for treatment? I would really like to be written to if it is not possible to answer this. What protocols exist and are they being issued as guidelines to all front-line services?

Some of the exemptions are applicable to people with disabilities who are able to participate in games, outside and indoors. I understand the sentiment in ensuring that activities and provisions on playing sport are available to them. Are we not overlooking the need to safeguard the health and protection of the groups of people who have until now been shielding?

Are the criteria for shifting at-risk areas in the medium category to a higher grade being communicated to local authorities in advance so that they can prepare sufficiently, and will adequate extra resources be made available to cities and regions, whatever their political leadership?

Finally, boroughs such as Tower Hamlets and Newham have seen incredible levels of infection and admissions, which now include young people and children. What consideration is being given to ensure that we do not airbrush children out of the danger zone, as we seem to be doing?

[The Deputy Speaker (Baroness Fookes) (Con)]

As the noble Lord, Lord Berkeley, has withdrawn, I call the noble Baroness, Lady Jolly.

Health Protection (Coronavirus, Wearing of Face Coverings in a Relevant Place and on Public Transport) (England) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2020

Baroness Uddin Excerpts

Monday 12th October 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Uddin (Non-Afl) [V]]

My Lords, many of us in this House have consistently called on the Government to make mask-wearing mandatory. I am relieved that they have seen the error of their ways. When masks were gold dust, my wonderful mother started making them, beautifully crafted, for all our family. I have diligently worn them since April, even when I am cooking and baking. We are at a crossroads, with increasing numbers of people being admitted to hospital across the country. No doubt we will have to examine whether mandating masks would have prevented the rising infection rate.

I take this opportunity to acknowledge the decisive action of the Lord Speaker, and the Speaker in the other place, who instructed both Houses in protecting staff. I hope that guidance will also be extended to staff at hospitality venues, including restaurants. It makes no sense for staff not to wear masks while cooking and serving.

Masks are an expensive commodity, priced well beyond the means of those on paltry state benefits and low pay. Can the Government enshrine their commitment to public health and meet the needs of those most vulnerable by making them available free in health service institutions, schools, universities, community centres and places of worship, where people are still allowed to congregate in greater numbers with social distancing?

I went to venues, as I usually do every weekend, to see what was happening and if there were any improvements among young people attending organised events. I was pleased to see increased numbers of young people wearing masks—though still not enough—but social distancing remains a huge gap in public education. The Government must address this and I am sure we will discuss it in due course.

I have just come from a Zoom briefing by the Chinese Information and Advice Centre. Its members have seen an exponential rise in hate crimes against the Chinese communities. Under the outstanding leadership of Edmond Yeo, CIAC’s endeavours have also been outstanding, ensuring that it provides thousands of masks and food parcels to vulnerable families. I have worked with CIAC since April and throughout the summer. Its work is incredible and its commitment outstanding. This community has suffered a huge rise in hate crimes. Can the Minister take this back to his and other departments, and ensure that the Chinese communities are protected on the streets of our country?

Health Protection (Coronavirus, Collection of Contact Details etc and Related Requirements) Regulations 2020

Baroness Uddin Excerpts

Wednesday 7th October 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Uddin (Non-Afl) [V]]

My Lords, when the technology works, it is impactful, and therefore access to these enabling facilities is critical. Of course, we do not live in a world that is socially and economically equal by any measure. Therefore, I urge the Minister, as I have done before, that when measures such as these are presented to the House, an equality impact assessment must be embedded. That is absolutely necessary, particularly when the regulations state that there is no human rights impact but then proceed to list many possible infringements and punitive punishment measures. I therefore add my voice to those of the noble Baroness, Lady Barker, and others, who have called for the Minister to present a current analysis of what is happening on the ground, right now, when bringing forward SIs. This is important and extremely pertinent, so that we can continue to support these retrospective government measures and regulations.

The Minister listed the impressive number of people who have downloaded the apps. Indeed, as someone who is getting to be comfortable with these things, that is impressive. However, what evidence is available to the Government on the use of these apps and compliance with the test and track requirements? Are they being taken up by those in vulnerable communities where infection rates are the highest? Does the noble Lord accept that the messaging has some way to go to reach into those communities where language barriers and socio-economic disadvantages, including digital disadvantages, are so significant? These are people who remain extremely vulnerable to the upcoming surge in infection rates and admissions to hospital. If so, we will have to learn the lessons of the last deadly period.

I have spoken to the owners of a number of hospitality businesses, including to Mr Atique Choudhury, the owner of Yum Yum. Incidentally, his father, Mr Dabirul Islam Choudhury, a pioneering restaurateur and a centenarian, has raised £250,000 for the NHS and related charities. I hope that the Minister will take this opportunity to commend his incredible work. Mr Choudhury and others in the British curry industry have emphasised that they have invested significantly in keeping customers safe by ensuring effective compliance, with some using manual records to meet the requirements.

There are massive concerns about data management. Without a trustworthy track and test system in place, it feels as though we are playing Russian roulette with our populations. This has been said by one of the restaurateurs; it does not come from me.

I also reiterate points I have made before about safeguarding data, particularly when it is being calculated manually—how it is being accessed and who will have management and control responsibility. I cannot fathom the rationale of keeping classes going in some universities and schools where there have been positive Covid incidents. We know that restaurants and other businesses would be forced to close for 28 days, which may be unnecessary. Intense so-called fogging can take place, which does not require prolonged closure of businesses.

There are lots of issues and not enough time for us to express many of the frustrations we have learned. I agree with many noble Lords that these regulations should be viewed with caution and dread. I ask the Government to ensure that they speak to all our citizens with consistency and clarity.

Coronavirus Act 2020: Temporary Provisions

Baroness Uddin Excerpts

Monday 28th September 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Uddin (Non-Afl) [V]]

My Lords, I congratulate our distinguished three new Members, the noble Baronesses, Lady Clark of Kilwinning and Lady Morrissey, and the noble and learned Lord, Lord Clarke of Nottingham. As quiet as the House is, we all wish them a warm welcome.

I wish to reiterate the concerns raised over the months about children and young people contracting infection having come back to education. As I speak, a member of my extended family, 15 year-old Iftekhar, is fighting for his life on a ventilator. In our family, grandchildren attending four different schools have experienced infection and consequent closure of their classes and isolation at home. Will the Minister write to me with details and any available government data if there are disproportionate rates of infection among children of minority heritage?

I wish to address specific parts of the Coronavirus Act. The Minister may recall our difficult exchanges in March over the emergency legislation on the management of death. It is worrying that Section 58 and Schedule 28, which removed the need for a second confirmatory medical certificate for cremation, remain in place. However, statutory provision preventing cremation against the deceased’s wishes in case of emergency is intact. The Act explains that the Government’s overriding objective is to protect personal choice. It imposes a duty on local and national authorities to have regard to the deceased’s wishes, religion or belief. The Government acknowledge that there are no specific national capacity issues regarding space for burial. This emergency Act of Parliament overrides any preceding duties. Given that there are no significant capacity concerns, will the Minister state the rationale for government retaining these emergency powers? Will he assure the House that, in the event of further unforeseen shortages, the Government will work with community organisations to manage death with dignity and honour? Further, will the Government review and withdraw these sections immediately to allay ongoing community fears?

I welcome bringing back staff initiatives, including social workers’ return to service. Will the Government stop the disapplication of DBS, or disclosure and barring services, which was introduced to enable speedy recruitment of social services and domiciliary care staff?

Will the Minister assure the House that the vulnerable elderly, the disabled and children’s safeguarding and safety remain paramount and will never be compromised, particularly in light of the British Institute of Human Rights report about the abject failure to provide sufficient protection for our precious elders and those with learning disabilities and autism, as testified to by the noble Baronesses, Lady Campbell and Lady Hollins?

Neither can we tolerate any tampering with civil liberties, or we will be left with no face to demand freedom and liberty elsewhere in the world. Successive Governments have failed by ignoring the dangerous impact of religious and race discrimination and the toll it takes on the social, educational, physical and emotional health of people of minority heritage. I am disheartened at the lack of evidence, strategy, action and preparedness to address these inequalities. Will the Minister and the Government publish an equality impact assessment of this and all legislation, particularly for women, minority communities and those living with disabilities and autism? I thank him for the way he has handled our relentless questioning, and look forward to his response.

Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions on Gatherings) (North of England) Regulations 2020

Baroness Uddin Excerpts

Friday 25th September 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Uddin (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, there have been a staggering 6,634 cases. Will the Minister write to me with some information on the breakdown by age and ethnicity of those numbers?

The hospitality sector will once again take a massive hit, just as many, including the British curry industry, felt some hope of survival.

While I agree that we face extreme choices of balance between living safely and ensuring that families and communities do not face economic collapse, I continue to object in the strongest possible manner to the rising amount of fines. I ask the Government to review the amount of that imposition.

What strategies and action are the Government taking to protect women of minority heritage from the disproportionate disparities identified by the Public Health England report three months ago? Three months on from the publication of Beyond the Data, what progress have the Government made in implementing the seven recommendations? The review confirmed significant health inequalities and highlighted staff experiencing discrimination, although noble Lords and I have differing views on that. The review is substantiated by the many public pronouncements and statements made by professionals.

Men of Bangladeshi heritage are four times more likely to work in a sector facing restrictions and have fallen to this disease at twice the rate of others, while other minority groups are 50% more vulnerable. As pressures mount on services, can the Minister assure BAME staff and the House that doctors and nurses of minority heritage are not being “pushed” disproportionately to work on the front line of Covid management without sufficient PPE—more so than their white counterparts?

As the Minister said, overcrowding and multi- generational housing are causes of concern. Does he agree that long-term poverty and a lack of clarity and coherence in messaging may also be significant factors?

Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Leicester) (No. 2) Regulations 2020

Baroness Uddin Excerpts

Thursday 24th September 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Uddin (Non-Afl) [V]]

Leicester is a vibrant city that I have loved for decades—from the moment I took a government delegation there 22 years ago to examine its outstanding record on community integration and its community leadership from women.

I echo the many concerns raised by the noble Lord, Lord Hunt of Kings Heath, particularly with regard to the lack of evident constructive dialogue with the local mayor. I hope that the Minister will remedy this at the earliest opportunity.

With the knowledge that this disease has taken too many lives, and disproportionately so the lives of minority populations, including significant numbers of those on the front line of the NHS and other critical services, what analysis is under way by our Government to prevent an equally adverse impact as we embark on new challenges and restrictions? Are there lessons applicable to other similar areas?

I raise the particular concerns drawn to my attention by a number of professionals in the field, including Barnardo’s, on the mental health of young people. Already, one in eight of those aged five to 19 have been diagnosed with mental health conditions, including those who are struggling with grief, loss and bereavement. Among them are those from disadvantaged areas and children of minority heritage who are negotiating additional challenges and barriers of prejudice, racism and religious discrimination. I know that the Government are already committed to programmes to address some of these difficulties, but the Minister will also be aware that CAMHS services are struggling to meet demands and referrals have become cumbersome and delayed.

Can the Minister say whether he is considering, or will consider, working closely with Barnardo’s and other reputable, long-standing NGOs to meet the excess demand, address the needs of minority heritage children, in particular, and engage with professions that are suitably qualified from these communities? I am happy, given I have the luxury of four minutes, to offer my services as a former child protection officer. But he does not have to take that up; just stick to the professionals if that is what he is comfortable with.

Is the Minister aware of the new Barnardo’s advert highlighting the impact of losing loved ones? Will he consider adding to these campaigns the Government’s voice and initiatives and mitigate future harms to children, not only in Leicester but elsewhere?

Covid-19 Update

Baroness Uddin Excerpts

Monday 21st September 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Uddin (Non-Afl) [V]]

My Lords, 50,000 is a frightening enough number but SAGE has made public pronouncements that, as we approach the winter, up to 500,000 people or more may display Covid and flu symptoms. With schools and universities returned, there is nationwide concern about this increasing exponentially, as the Minister has said. We have heard that some schools and universities are already facing partial closure. What specific advice has been issued to NHS front-line staff, including GPs, so that they are vigilant and adequately prepared to respond to the needs of teachers and families—particularly those within ethnic minority communities—who are deemed at higher risk of being affected by this dangerous disease? Regarding the Help Us to Help You campaign, is the Minister working closely with ethnic minority communities in particular? They have obviously been disproportionately affected, and we want to avoid that continuing, at all costs.

[Lord Bethell (Con)]

My Lords, the noble Baroness is quite right to raise the question of the Help Us to Help You campaign and the work that is being focused on hard-to-reach communities, whether BAME communities or other communities where we struggle to get some of our health messages through. I reassure her that there is an enormous focus on getting these important messages through to those who are particularly vulnerable to the effects of Covid, and who we have to work harder to reach.

Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (No. 2) (England) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2020

Baroness Uddin Excerpts

Friday 18th September 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Uddin (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Bourne, and I agree with him in entirety.

Approval for retrospective regulations does not bode well for the mother of Parliaments when some 10 million people, including 2 million in the north-east, are facing lockdowns. Multigenerational and extended families cannot meet in homes or gardens as before, but we can group in pubs and restaurants. Most people I have spoken to have said that this is confusing and does not make sense at all, given that children have returned to school, where thousands—including teachers—are waiting for testing. We are also about to experience the consequences of 500,000 university students returning.

I acknowledge the extreme pressures that the Government are managing, but it does not allay the fears and confusion of the ordinary public when they witness conflict between the Chief Scientific Adviser warning us to plan ahead and those responsible for planning pronouncing that demands could not have been foreseen. This is not acceptable. Clarity of leadership is absolutely critical to garner public compliance and even respect for these many necessary restrictions, particularly to tackle the danger of by many younger people not adhering to social distancing and the wearing of masks.

I am at one with the noble Baroness, Lady Hayman, in asking the Government to review counting children in the current cluster of six.

Finally, how are the Government ensuring a robust plan to protect care homes from further unnecessary fatalities in the upcoming months and also to avoid at all costs any disproportionate impact on those from minority ethnic backgrounds with different conditions, including poor housing, and poor-quality health and social care? We have all known about it and have been warning the Government constantly about it, but I have not heard one iota of response, which I find totally abhorrent.

Anti-obesity Strategies

Baroness Uddin Excerpts

Monday 14th September 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bethell (Con)]

My noble friend is right, and Covid has really spelt out the challenge in this area to the NHS and the Government. The incidence of serious Covid effects on BAME communities has been more intense because of the prevalence of diabetes and overweightness in many of those communities. We have relooked at our marketing and communications to those communities and need to redouble our efforts. That is why, as part of the obesity strategy, we are putting in serious, concentrated efforts in reaching the communities, as my noble friend advised. I would be glad to talk to her about how we can do that better.

[Baroness Uddin (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, children and adolescent adults with eating disorders battle multiple debilitating physical and mental effects. Eating disorders have one of the highest morbidity rates among psychiatric conditions, causing untold helplessness and grief for families and professionals constantly struggling with a lack of adequate financial resources and services, as evidenced by Ignoring the alarms: How NHS eating disorder services are failing patients, a report by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. In light of this report and a significant body of evidence known to health services and experts in the field, can the Minister assure the House that sufficient advice has been sought and a thorough, evidence-based risk analysis undertaken to mitigate the potential harmful, detrimental impact of the public anti-obesity campaign on those suffering and recovering from disorders?

[Lord Bethell (Con)]

My Lords, I am not sure I agree with the premise of the question. It is not my belief that the anti-obesity campaign will generate massive negative repercussions. The NHS’s work in this area has developed immensely and we are putting a huge amount of money into it, including through our mental health strategy. I support the strategy we are applying.