Wednesday Volume 687 13 January 2021 No. 159 HOUSE OF COMMONS OFFICIAL REPORT PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES (HANSARD) Wednesday 13 January 2021 © Parliamentary Copyright House of Commons 2021 This publication may be reproduced under the terms of the Open Parliament licence, which is published at www.parliament.uk/site-information/copyright/. 275 13 JANUARY 2021 276 are working across Government and particularly with House of Commons the Department for Education to develop a new impactful all-age autism strategy. This will set out specific actions Wednesday 13 January 2021 to address the significant inequalities that autistic people and their families face. The House met at half-past Eleven o’clock We aim to publish the strategy in the spring. PRAYERS Kerry McCarthy [V]: I was not really able to hear the Minister’s answer, but there was a report from the Care Quality Commission in October last year that was quite [MR SPEAKER in the Chair] damning in its account of the experiences of people Virtual participation in proceedings commenced (Orders, with autism and learning disabilities in mental health 4 June and 30 December 2020). facilities. What work is the Minister doing—particularly [NB: [V] denotes a Member participating virtually.] in terms of the review of the Mental Health Act 2010 that we will hear about later today—to ensure that people with autism are treated sensitively when they end Oral Answers to Questions up encountering mental health services and having to spend time as an in-patient? WOMEN AND EQUALITIES Helen Whately: I know that the report to which the hon. Lady refers, which was commissioned by the Secretary State for Health and Social Care, did indeed have some The Minister for Women and Equalities was asked— very serious findings. We absolutely will take action Covid-19: Disabled People based on that report. We are also working on the Transforming Care agenda to ensure that people with Munira Wilson (Twickenham) (LD): What steps her learning disabilities and autism are not inappropriately Department has taken to help tackle the disproportionate in in-patient settings. There is, of course, also the reform effect of the covid-19 outbreak on people with a disability. of the Mental Health Act, which will mean that it [910489] should no longer be used for the detention of people with learning disabilities and autism beyond the 28-day The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work period for assessment. and Pensions (Mims Davies) [V]: The Government are committed to supporting disabled people affected by Covid-19: BAME Communities the covid-19 pandemic. We are ensuring that disabled people continue to have access to disability benefits, Chi Onwurah (Newcastle upon Tyne Central) (Lab): financial support, food, medicines and employment What steps her Department has taken to help tackle the support, as well as updated guidance in accessible formats. disproportionate effect of the covid-19 outbreak on Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities. [910491] Munira Wilson [V]: I thank the Minister for her answer. We know that in the last lockdown over half of The Minister for Equalities (Kemi Badenoch): My first families with disabled children found that their essential report on the disproportionate impact of covid-19 on care support was stopped, with a third of parents ethnic minority groups in October concluded that there reporting no specific support for their child’s remote is no evidence suggesting that ethnicity itself is a risk learning needs. That left many families in crisis with no factor. Rather, the evidence suggests that a range of respite. What steps are Ministers taking to ensure that socioeconomic and geographical factors, as well as pre- both care and access to learning are made a priority for existing health conditions, largely explained the disparities. disabled children during this lockdown? The report set out the range of measures that the Government had put in place as well as recommendations Mims Davies: The pandemic has been extremely to target those risk factors, which we are carrying out challenging for families with children and young people across Government. Weare also working with stakeholders, with special educational needs. Supporting them is a including the British Medical Association and the priority for this Government and their wellbeing remains Community Advisory Group, specifically in relation to central to our response. We have our £37.3 million adult social care. family fund to help more than 75,000 low-income families raising children. The hon. Lady will note that the Minister Chi Onwurah: The disparities impact report did not for Children and Families, my hon. Friend the Member say that race was not a factor. What it actually said was for Chelmsford (Vicky Ford), is partaking in this session, that data were not being collected. Has the Minister and I am sure that she will be keen to update her further. ensured that ethnicity data, including test-taking, positive tests, vaccinations and deaths at a national and regional National Autism Strategy level, are being collected to enable the robust monitoring of the impacts of covid-19 on black, Asian and minority Kerry McCarthy (Bristol East) (Lab): What recent ethnic communities? If she has, we will see whether her discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for deep-rooted reluctance to acknowledge the role that Health and Social Care on the development of the new structural racism plays is actually justified. national autism strategy. [910490] Kemi Badenoch: I am afraid that the hon. Lady seems The Minister for Care (Helen Whately): I thank the to have completely misunderstood the report. I encourage hon. Lady for raising this important issue and congratulate her to re-read it. There is no evidence to suggest that her on all the work that she does for autistic people. We structural or institutional racism is the cause of the 277 Oral Answers 13 JANUARY 2021 Oral Answers 278 higher infection rate for ethnic minority groups. In fact, Robbie Moore [V]: A recent survey carried out by the data published by the Intensive Care National Audit Royal Society for Public Health revealed that only and Research Centre shows that from September to 57% of respondents from BAME backgrounds were December, the direct impacts of covid-19 have improved likely to accept the vaccine, compared with 79% of for ethnic minorities overall when it comes to the percentages white respondents. I know, based on emails that I have of critically ill patients and deaths in England by ethnicity received from constituents across Keighley, that there is when compared with the first wave. Weneed to understand an element of nervousness about vaccines among the that this is a health crisis, and it is really sad that BAME community, so will my hon. Friend outline how Opposition Members continue to politicise the issue and she will increase efforts to support vaccine take-up to look for racism, when medical experts have supported among BAME communities and reassure all that the our report and shown what is driving these disparities. vaccines are completely safe? Levelling-up Agenda Kemi Badenoch: The NHS will provide information to promote the take-up of the covid-19 vaccines among Jacob Young (Redcar) (Con): What steps her Department all communities, and will support anyone who has is taking to contribute to the Government’s levelling-up questions about the vaccination process. We are doing a agenda. [910492] lot of work across Government on this issue. We have had meetings with multiple stakeholders, including last The Minister for Women and Equalities (Elizabeth week with the National Pharmacy Association, with Truss): We are determined that everyone in Britain which I and the Under-Secretaries of State for Health should be treated fairly and have a fair chance in life, and Social Care, my hon. Friends the Members for whether they come from Redcar or Reading. That is Stratford-on-Avon (Nadhim Zahawi) and for Bury why we have a new approach in the Equality Hub that is St Edmunds (Jo Churchill) discussed options to tackle focused on the scourge of geographic inequality. vaccine hesitancy among minority communities. Jacob Young [V]: The Minister knows that Redcar Rob Butler [V]: Disinformation about the safety of and Cleveland rely a lot on our chemicals, manufacturing vaccines has caused great alarm for many people. This and engineering industry, and, like me, many young scaremongering is hugely damaging when mass inoculation lads in Teesside go on to study apprenticeships in our is the route out of the current crisis and will enable us to industry. However, there remains a lot of work to do to return to normal life. What steps is the Department address the gender imbalance that faces our industry. taking to work with other Government Departments to What more can the Government do to encourage young ensure that accurate information on the safety of vaccines people of all backgrounds, but especially young women, is conveyed to communities for whom English is not to access engineering and help to level up places such as their first language? Redcar and Cleveland? Kemi Badenoch: The vaccine confidence campaign is a cross-Government one, and it includes work to translate Elizabeth Truss: My hon. Friend makes a very good key messages and guidance in over 10 different ethnic point. We know that 35% of the gender wage gap can be languages across radio stations and publications. I reiterate explained by the different occupations done by men and my hon. Friend’s point that vaccine disinformation is women. I am delighted that he is doing a lot to support harmful and dangerous. It is everyone’s responsibility Teesside’s chemical industry and to attract more young to access information from authoritative sources and people, including women, into it.