Government failed to arm BAME communities with ‘adequate’ information about risk of coronavirus, local councillor tells inquiry

The government failed to arm BAME communities with ‘adequate information’ about the higher risk they face from coronavirus, an Asian councillor has told an inquiry.

Rochdale councillor Faisal Rana makes the claim in evidence submitted to an investigation into the impact of Covid-19 on those from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds.

It comes as Public Health England publishes a report finding people of Bangladeshi ethnicity were twice as likely to die of the virus than white British, while other BAME groups were between 10 and 50 per cent higher risk of death.

Set up by Labour leader Keir Starmer MP and led by Baroness Doreen Lawrence, the review will look into why coronavirus seems to have taken such a ‘disproportionate toll’ on BAME people.

At the time of its launch, official figures showed that more than a third of coronavirus-sufferers in intensive care came from BAME backgrounds – almost triple the proportion of BAME people in the wider population.

Councillor Rana, who is of Pakistani origin, has been deeply concerned about the impact of the virus on Rochdale and other towns with large minority ethnic populations.

He says the reasons for the higher death rate among BAME communities are ‘obviously complex’.

But believes the increased health risks – such as being much more likely to develop type 2 diabetes – combined with high levels of deprivation, low-income occupations and poor housing conditions had proven to be a ‘deadly cocktail’.

In evidence to the review he said: “Despite the government and its scientific advisers being aware of the significant risk faced by BAME workers over-represented in employment sectors and with an increased risk of exposure to Covid-19 – such as health, public transport and retail industries –  no specific measures were taken to shield them from exposure to the virus. 

 “There has been a failure of government to provide adequate public information about the higher risk posed by the virus to the BAME population. 

“Indeed, it has largely been left to minority communities themselves to disseminate critical information about keeping safe during the pandemic.  I was so concerned about the delay in providing translations of essential advice I personally distributed a bilingual leaflet in English and Urdu to a majority of my constituents.”

Councillor Rana also warns that the inequalities exposed and exacerbated by Covid-19 could continue ‘beyond the immediate health crisis’.

This includes fears the decision to cancel exams and rely on predicted grades ‘will have a negative impact on future opportunities and social mobility for many young people from minority ethnic communities’.

Research by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills in 2011 found black applicants were the most likely to have their grades under-predicted.

In his conclusion Councillor Rana says that the pandemic has exposed inequalities that have been ‘devastating’ for the BAME community – and warned against deprived areas bearing the financial brunt of the crisis.

He adds: “The Bank of England is already speculating on the level of public spending cuts that will be required to pay for the cost of fighting Covid-19. We must not allow the poorest and most vulnerable in society to once again pay the heaviest price. As we have already seen, for many in our minority communities, they have already paid with their lives.”

Baroness Doreen Lawrence is leading a review into the impact of Coronavirus on black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities. Baroness Lawrence’s son, Stephen, was stabbed to death in a racist attack 27 years ago.

Doreen will work closely with Marsha De Cordova, Shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities to investigate why BAME communities are disproportionally affected and propose recommendations.

Nick Statham, Local Democracy Reporter