Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on the drivers of health inequalities; and what steps his Department is taking to tackle health inequalities to protect those at greatest risk from covid-19.

We do not yet fully understand the effect of COVID-19 on health inequalities or on health indicators like life expectancy. Public Health England (PHE) has undertaken an in-depth analysis of the disparities arising from COVID-19. ‘Disparities in the risk and outcomes of COVID-19’ published in June 2020, confirmed that the impact of the pandemic replicated and increased existing health inequalities. The report found that the risk of dying from COVID-19 was higher in older age groups, males, those living in more deprived areas and some ethnic minority groups.

The Minister for Equalities (Kemi Badenoch MP) is leading cross-Government work to better understand the disparities in the risks and outcomes from COVID-19 and the relationships between the different risk factors. The ‘Third quarterly report on progress to address COVID-19 health inequalities’ was published in May and reflects that considerable efforts are underway to address these disparities including through the Community Champions scheme led by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and supported by the Department, which has provided £23.75million in funding to local authorities.

The Government remains committed to levelling up health outcomes across the country and will publish a White Paper later this year, setting out bold new policy interventions to improve livelihoods and opportunity in all parts of the United Kingdom. This will have a focus on reducing inequalities in the way different communities experience and are impacted by threats to health, targeting action towards disproportionately affected groups.

The new Office for Health Promotion (OHP) will continue to drive health promotion and prevention. Under the professional leadership of the Chief Medical Officer, it will help the Department deliver proactive, predictive and personalised prevention strategies. Alongside the recently announced cross-ministerial board on prevention, the OHP will put addressing health inequalities as a key priority.