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

Baroness Benjamin Excerpts

Friday 24th July 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Benjamin (LD) [V]]

My Lords, it is widely acknowledged that black, Asian and ethnically diverse people have been hardest hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. They have experienced higher levels of depression and anxiety throughout the crisis. They have had greater mortality and infection rates than other groups, as well as fears about catching Covid-19. They are also more worried about unemployment and access to food, and they suffer more financial stress than other groups. We know that Bangladeshis are twice as likely to be affected. Many live in the most deprived areas, with high levels of poverty and cramped conditions with no gardens, and they face immense difficulties in home-schooling their children, which has a detrimental impact on those children’s futures. Recommendation 7 in the Beyond the Data report states:

“Ensure that COVID-19 recovery strategies actively reduce inequalities caused by the wider determinants of health to create long term sustainable change.”


What are the Government’s plans to get these regulations’ messages out to this group of vulnerable people to protect and reassure them?