Elliot Colburn
Main Page: Elliot Colburn (Conservative - Carshalton and Wallington)Department Debates - View all Elliot Colburn's debates with the HM Treasury
Covid-19: Ethnic Minority Disparities
Elliot Colburn Excerpts(3 years, 9 months ago)
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Kemi Badenoch
I thank the hon. Lady for that question. I recall having this discussion just before October, in relation to my previous report. I specifically raised with DHSC colleagues the point that people who are being removed from the frontline because of their risk should not have any career impacts. I can write to her with the full details. I cannot recollect off the top of my head where we ended up, but I know that I have an answer for her.
Elliot Colburn (Carshalton and Wallington) (Con) [V]
I recently held a virtual vaccine roundtable in Carshalton and Wallington with NHS leaders such as Dr Anu Jacob, Arlene Wellman and Nadine Wyatt, and community leaders such as Councillor Lily Bande, Councillor Param Nandha and Mukesh Rao, to encourage everyone, including ethnic minority groups, to get the vaccine, and it was a great success. I welcome the Government’s work to communicate the benefits of getting a covid vaccine to hard-to-reach groups, but could my hon. Friend assure me that we will continue to support community leaders to ensure that the message gets through to every single part of our communities?
Kemi Badenoch
Yes, I can assure my hon. Friend of that. It is what I responded to my hon. Friend the Member for Burton (Kate Griffiths), and I can reiterate it again now. What I would also say is that we want to assess the effectiveness of the scheme, so it is not just about letting people know that it has happened, but about checking that what we are doing and what we think is happening is working. Participating local authorities will provide regular progress reports over the course of the community champions programme, for example, so that we can evaluate exactly what is going on. One of the next steps in my report is to share the learning from the programme and to maximise the benefits from the funding we have given so that everyone, including those who have not participated in the scheme, can benefit.