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.

Covid-19 Update

Baroness Uddin Excerpts

Monday 14th September 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bethell (Con)]

My Lords, I agree that everyone can tell the difference between inside and outside, but everyone also has eyes, and may have seen, as I have, how people crowd together in the forecourts and beer gardens of Britain. If they were all standing on draughty hillsides with the wind blowing the disease around, that would be one thing, but the simple fact is that our prevalence has gone up—the evidence speaks for itself—and that is why we need to be clearer about this simple measure.

[Baroness Uddin (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, in the US 513,000 children have been infected as of 3 September, with 70,630 cases reported in the past two weeks. Only this morning in my locality, all reception classes bar one were shut down due to the Covid infection of a teacher. As a father, the Minister will understand that many parents remain fearful and are seeking assurance and evidence of safety. Holding the Government to account after a tragedy has occurred would be meaningless. What lessons can we learn from our friends in the US and elsewhere about minimising the spread of infection among teachers and children in the UK, with the inevitable consequence of transmission to their homes and vulnerable loved ones in their families?

[Lord Bethell (Con)]

My Lords, policymakers around the world are facing exactly the same dilemma. We are determined to have the schools back, because the long-term effects on young people—particularly the least advantaged—will be profound if we shut the schools. The noble Baroness is entirely right to say that parents are naturally concerned that the safety of children, and other generations that they may come into contact with, is at risk. That is why we are massively prioritising the return of schools and introducing measures such as the rule of six to break the chain of transmission and thereby protect the schools from closure.

Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) (No. 3) Regulations 2020

Baroness Uddin Excerpts

Thursday 3rd September 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Uddin (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, I am pleased to follow the noble Baroness, Lady Noakes. We are in the seventh week of the regulations being in place and once more we are sleepwalking into approving regulations without an opportunity to amend or challenge decisions, undermining any notion of meaningful oversight.

I wish to make two points, the first being about localised lockdown. Despite what the Minister said, confusion seems to have reigned, creating significant turbulence in communities. By now, we should have established a blueprint for multiagency intervention in partnership with local leadership and health organisations, including local testing, as I have said before in this House. When the Government say that they are being decisive, that is not recognised by many communities, which consider that government approaches cause anxiety and resentment among residents, businesses, health professionals and law enforcement alike. Can the Minister inform the House what criteria and benchmarks are activating local lockdowns? I understand that the virus remains worryingly active, and I hope that noble Lords will agree that we must do all we can to mitigate the effect of uncertainties and the erosion of trust and confidence. That includes improving communication among minority communities, which at the moment can be considered negligent.

The other point that I wish to raise is on the impact of regulations on public gatherings. Every weekend I see young people in public and at social gatherings breaching the mask-wearing and social distancing rules, with no enforcement in sight. The health protection regulations are in place to protect the public from health risks, but they must not transgress, being used to impinge on civil liberties or stop peaceful, democratic protests. During these protests, some people have received excessive, punitive fines. Any draconian interpretation of the rules must not be countenanced or allowed to curtail our basic rights at a time when we are witnessing historic movements led by young people campaigning for social and political justice, equality and action on climate change. I agree wholeheartedly with the noble Baronesses, Lady Jolly and Lady Bull. Can the Minister assure the House that the Government are collecting robust data for equality impact assessments, on how and where fines are being issued, and on the ethnic and age breakdown?

Medicines and Medical Devices Bill

Baroness Uddin Excerpts

2nd reading & 2nd reading (Hansard) & 2nd reading (Hansard): House of Lords
Wednesday 2nd September 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Uddin (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, I express at the outset my gratitude to many organisations, including the BHF, PSA, Birmingham University and of course our own House of Lords Library for their insightful briefings. The Bill seeks to keep high standards and safeguard patient safety as paramount considerations and to propel the UK as a standard bearer of new innovations. Like other noble Lords, I am uncomfortable about the extensive range of delegated powers afforded to the Government over medicines and medical devices and I would have liked, given time, to have elaborated further on the implications of Clauses 2, 4, 15 and 16 on the regulatory requirements during public health emergencies. I can only hope and pray that the other place and this House will ensure continuous scrutiny, with an agreed timeframe for a review of this legislation.

While I appreciate the legislative context of the Bill and the need for it, I wish to make some general points and do so as a grass-roots advocate who has campaigned for more than four decades for accountability and equity within healthcare and social services. I spent years working in this field and recall supporting many women who had experienced untold misery as result of medical intervention; I therefore welcome the sensitive way in which the Minister in the other place, Nadine Dorries, acknowledged that women’s voices and informed choices continue to be discarded and not believed, as has gone on for decades. This recognition is critical, as the noble Baroness, Lady Cumberlege, so powerfully and lovingly spoke of: women cried out for help to alleviate the massive damage caused to them by the medicines and medical devices deemed safe for years by health institutions and professionals. Women have endured countless years of unnecessary pain and injury, leaving many with insurmountable psychological, physical and financial scars. Even the most outspoken champions for their needs found it difficult to be heard, while women awaited justice.

The report from the noble Baroness, Lady Cumberlege, First Do No Harm, must be at the forefront of the Government’s mind as we look to safeguard and embed patient safety with this Bill. We have an opportunity to ensure that this legislative framework is watertight against any such injustice and costly negligence occurring again.

I support the creation of patient safety commissioners to improve patient safety and represent patient interests. In this Bill, glaring fragmentation remains; no clear pathways are indicated in the regulatory system to where patient safety is located. The Paterson inquiry referred to these anomalies as a “jigsaw of organisations” to keep patients safe without sufficient clarity. In this context, I would have wished for clarity on further safeguarding of informed consent.

Can the Minister say how the Government intend to complete this obligation for consultation with patients and the wider healthcare sector, as called for in the most recent proposals, including the Cumberlege Report, in order to rebuild trust and confidence that another set of disasters is not in the making as we proceed rapidly to create a new vaccine in the face of this horrendous pandemic?

Of equal significance, but which appears to be absent, is reference to safeguarding informed consent. I therefore welcome the Minister’s willingness to listen. Would the Minister consider that the proposed commissioner be supported by a diverse group of experts to ensure that women, as well as minority groups, have full confidence that their voices and needs are not overridden by the Government’s rush for central decision-making? Prioritising patient safety must not be compromised. The noble Baroness, Lady Cumberlege, has reminded us of the thin wedge where the medical profession and women patients, in particular, interact. There is urgent need for a robust regulatory framework for medicine and medical devices with the principal aims of serving and protecting patients and users of our service.

Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Leicester) Regulations 2020

Baroness Uddin Excerpts

Wednesday 29th July 2020 Lords Chamber

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

My Lords, as we debate health protections in Leicester, other areas such as Oldham have emerged as candidates for a potential second lockdown. Echoing concerns raised by other noble Lords, I ask whether the Minister’s department has had the opportunity to consider what factors preceded the resurgence in specific areas with substantial minority populations. What assessment has been made of the economic impact of the first and second lockdowns on minority groups, including vulnerable women and children who may have been experiencing abuse or neglect? Given the recent news highlighting the disproportionate number of deaths among people with a learning disability during Covid, what specific safeguarding measures have been put in place to mitigate extraneous harm and distress?

Is the Minister satisfied with the clarity on thresholds for localised lockdowns, and are they being communicated thoroughly to all relevant parties—all local leaders, health institutions, businesses and, above all, the public? I was glad to hear the Minister say that public health information was relayed in relevant local languages, about which I have been shouting quite a lot lately. I assume that this will continue on social distancing and the use and availability of masks, and I agree that working together is the most effective way to reduce further danger.

These measures must continue to go hand in glove with continued financial support to those confined. I hope very much that the Government will do everything possible to reduce poverty and long-term poor health. I acknowledge the pressure that the Minister and his department have been under and I wish him well, and I wish all noble Lords a peaceful break.

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

Baroness Uddin Excerpts

Friday 24th July 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Uddin (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, in my precious minute, I express my gratitude, mindful of the difficult journey we have collectively experienced, responding in our own ways to the harm caused financially and to our personal well-being. As a community health advocate of 40 years, I ask the Government to produce immediately a lucid and unambiguous public health campaign, translated and bilingual where appropriate, targeting communities detrimentally impacted by this crisis, about, first, the use of masks and their benefits; and secondly, the critical matter of social distancing and its benefit.

Finally, as I have said before in this Chamber, I see no justification, benefit or public good for penalties that can exceed £3,000 for non-compliance. Will the Government concede these charges, for the sake of building trust and confidence while our country is recovering from this dramatic pandemic? I agree with the noble Baroness, Lady Bull, and the noble Lord, Lord Holmes. When will a national strategy on disability, as well as on race equality, be published by the Government?

Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations 2020

Baroness Uddin Excerpts

Thursday 25th June 2020 Lords Chamber

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

My Lords, the sun is out and it is echoed in the school playground outside my windows. Traffic is on the road and families are meeting each other. I have witnessed notable discrepancies in understanding much of the guidance among the population. Regrettably, we are again debating these health protection measures retrospectively. I agree with the deep concerns expressed by my noble friend Lord Hunt, and I have the following questions.

First, how are the Government supporting local authorities to implement guidance and monitor capacity, including access to PPE for care homes, the use of masks and social distances? Secondly, on day-care centres for adults living with learning disabilities, what assessment has been taken to mitigate their distress, including carers who may have experienced it during lockdown, in particular, to ensure that social work support and resources are available to staff to assess any abuse that they may have experienced? Thirdly, on track and trace among the most affected communities, do some of the tracers recruited have additional languages to ensure that language is no barrier to their engagement? Next, how are the Government ensuring that information on track and trace is reaching the most affected communities?

Next, on mental health, what steps have been taken to support front-line NHS care staff, as well as teachers and social workers, many of whom have experienced extreme distress as they continue their services? What access do these staff have to mental health resources and talking therapy? Similarly, in my locality women-led organisations such as Account 3 are currently providing a critical lifeline to women from difficult and disadvantaged family circumstances. They have experienced a high level of demand for services and not enough funding. Will the Government acknowledge their valiant role and efforts in mitigating some of the disproportionate impacts? Can the Minister let me know in writing what financial support may be available to them?

Undeniably, some minority communities have been profoundly affected by Covid-19. This has been substantiated by Public Health England’s reports, which have evidenced structural inequalities as a significant factor. Have the Government—

[Baroness Penn (Con)]

Can I remind the noble Baroness of the time limit on Back-Bench contributions?

[Baroness Uddin [V]]

Will the Government respond with policy measures to mitigate the impact, should there be a second wave? Thank you.