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Unequal impact? Covid-19 inquiry: Women and Equalities Committee hears evidence on health inequalities and on the workplace

6 May 2020

Professor Michael Marmot's  10 year review noted that there has been no national health inequalities strategy since 2010.

What impact has this had on the Government response to Covid-19? Will existing health inequalities be deepened by the pandemic?

Impact of Covid-19 on health and the workplace

Today's session will look at the impacts of Covid-19 and the measures taken to combat it on health and the workplace. It will also discuss the challenges and limitations of the data currently available when trying to consider inequalities, and establish the views of our three expert witnesses on what policies are working well and where improvements could be made.

Further areas to be discussed are likely to include:

  • A disproportionate number of BAME people and men are dying from the virus and evidence is still emerging: to what extent is this due to the virus itself and to what extent is it due to wider social factors?

  • Are there specific groups who are particularly affected by Government measures to protect health?

  • Key workers are clearly particularly affected: what research has been done on their characteristics?

  • The Committee has heard that the economic effects are particularly felt by BAME people, women, young people and disabled people. What can be done about this?

Witnesses

Wednesday 6 May 2020

At 2.30pm:

  • Professor Michael Marmot, UCL
  • Professor Imran Rasul, UCL
  • Liz McKeown, ONS

Further information

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