Coronavirus: Travellers

(asked on 19th May 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to the impact of COVID-19 on Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities; and whether these communities have been included in their assessments of the effects of the virus on BAME individuals.


Answered by
Lord Bethell Portrait
Lord Bethell
This question was answered on 1st June 2020

There is emerging evidence of an association between ethnicity and COVID-19 incidence and adverse health outcomes. We are working hard to understand more about COVID-19 and establish robust data on the factors impacting the number of COVID-19 cases and health outcomes for different groups within the population.

As part of this, we have commissioned Public Health England to consider the impact of various factors such as ethnicity, obesity, age, gender and geographical location, where data is available.

The Minister of State for Home Affairs and Housing, Communities and Local Government (the noble Lord Greenhalgh) has written to councils outlining their responsibility to support all communities, including Gypsy and Traveller communities, and to ensure they have access to water, sanitation and waste collections. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Rough Sleeping and Housing (Luke Hall MP) has written to owners and managers of caravan sites making clear they should keep sites open to allow people to remain if they would otherwise have nowhere to live.

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