Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme: BAME Communities Debate

Full Debate: Read Full Debate

Lord Liddle

Main Page: Lord Liddle (Labour - Life peer)

Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme: BAME Communities

Lord Liddle Excerpts
Monday 12th October 2020

(4 years, 1 month ago)

Lords Chamber
Read Full debate Read Hansard Text
Baroness Penn Portrait Baroness Penn (Con)
- Hansard - - - Excerpts

My Lords, it is because the Government completely understand that some of the most vulnerable in our society might be hit hardest by this pandemic in terms of both their health outcomes and their livelihood that we have put unprecedented support into supporting people’s livelihoods. We are continuing the job support scheme and we said on Friday how that will help to support those in businesses that may need to close down as a consequence of further restrictions imposed to help get the virus under control.

Lord Liddle Portrait Lord Liddle (Lab) [V]
- Hansard - -

My Lords, in the Minister’s replies I hear no hint of any new action to tackle this great injustice. Do the Government not accept that this is disappointing, given that Covid strikes hardest where inequalities are greatest, that one of the greatest drivers of inequalities is rising unemployment and that the BAME community has suffered most of all from this?

Baroness Penn Portrait Baroness Penn (Con)
- Hansard - - - Excerpts

Well, what I am trying to say to noble Lords is that the Government have been aware of this fact since the beginning of the crisis and it has informed our response so far—so, instead of trying to retrofit our response in the light of this information, it has driven our response. The noble Lord said that the Government are not taking any new action in response to this. New action was announced on Friday and I am updating the House on it today. The Equality and Human Rights Commission will report by the end of the year on employment, which is one of the themes it is looking at.