Question

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what recent progress the Government has made on reducing the increased risk to Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities from covid-19.

The Government is implementing significant measures to reduce the spread of the virus in all communities, especially for people who may be at higher risk. This includes ensuring that those in high-contact professions get targeted testing, issuing updated guidance on workplace safety and translating key public health messages into multiple different languages.

I am also leading work on the findings of the Public Health England Report “Disparities in the risk and outcomes of COVID-19”. Following work undertaken by the scientific community, the Office for National Statistics and the Race Disparity Unit, we have made good progress in recent weeks in identifying the key drivers of these disparities and the relationships between the different risk factors for ethnic minority communities. I have also been reviewing the effectiveness and impact of current actions being undertaken by government departments and their agencies to directly lessen the disparities. I will shortly be sending the first quarterly progress report on my work to the Prime Minister.