Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with each NHS trust in England about the implementation of the recommendations of Public Health England’s review Beyond the data: Understanding the impact of COVID-19 on BAME groups, published in June.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Equalities (Kemi Badenoch MP) is reviewing the findings from Public Health England’s (PHE) reports to better understand the drivers behind the disparities and the relationships between the different risk factors. Her work will take into account PHE’s recommendations and help us to improve understanding of the virus and who it affects so we can build on the existing action we are already taking to tackle health inequalities.

Within the health and care sector, all National Health Service employers were directed on 24 June by NHS England and NHS Improvement to make significant progress in deploying risk assessments for staff. NHS England and NHS Improvement have also established a Task and Finish Group, composed of a range of system leaders and voluntary sector partners, to focus on what specific, measurable actions should be taken by the NHS in the next few months. The Group will take account of feedback and ideas already received from black, Asian and minority ethnic organisations, the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector, local systems and others.