Today's Headlines

Lib Dems uncover 'blindspot' in data on COVID-19 impact on BAME communities

The Liberal Democrats have exposed the Government's failure to collect data on the ethnicity of those being tested for COVID-19, and outcomes in terms of the number of people who have tested positive for the virus, and the number who have died.

• Christine Jardine, Liberal Democrat Equalities spokesperson, asked the Department of Health for this key data, broken down by ethnicity. She received a response stating that that data is "not currently available in the format requested.
• The disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on BAME communities is deeply alarming. The Government must do everything in its power to understand what lies behind this worrying trend.
• It is shocking that the Government appear not to have collected data on ethnicity as part of their COVID-19 testing programme. This leaves a huge blindspot in terms of identifying patterns in the wider transmission of this virus.
• We should be collecting this information in real time, to allow for thorough analysis and to inform any strategies to protect vulnerable groups and reduce transmission.
• Relying on analysis of NHS data after the crisis has passed will be too late to inform Ministers' response to the pandemic.

Lib Dems condemn Govt over scrapping provisions for vulnerable children

Last night the Government removed the guaranteed rights of all children with a education, health and care (EHC) plan.

• It is utterly unacceptable that children with EHCPs and their parents had about 7 hours' notice before their right to provisions was effectively revoked. The Government should be ashamed over how it has handled this.
• At a time when Government should be doing more, they are doing less. Some will say this is pragmatic, but I am deeply concerned that already under-supported children and families are going to fall through the cracks.
• The Government must commit to the money and training needed to maintain standards. With supply teachers desperate for work and retired teachers ready and waiting to come back to help, this should have been done weeks ago.

COVID-19 impact on deprived areas shows Govt must act on shameful inequalities

Data from the ONS published this morning shows "people living in more deprived areas have experienced COVID-19 mortality rates more than double those living in less deprived areas".

• This awful virus has wrought havoc on lives across the UK, but it's clear that those worst affected are people already living in some of the most deprived areas of the country. Those who were already vulnerable are being hit hardest. This is no coincidence. This postcode lottery of morbidity is shameful and must not be tolerated.
• Many of those key workers most at risk - people on the frontlines, keeping supermarkets stocked, delivering our essentials and ensuring hospitals can stay up and running through this crisis - are also in some of the lowest paid jobs. Many others will have specific vulnerabilities, due to age or underlying health conditions.
• The Conservative Government must ensure that no one is left behind in efforts to tackle the virus. Ministers must do more right now to protect everyone working to keep our health system and essential services up and running. This means ensuring Personal Protective Equipment is provided as standard for all essential frontline workers.
• Going forward, Ministers must act to tackle the fundamental inequalities that have put people at greater risk from COVID-19.

Govt must focus on test, trace and isolate not arbitrary deadlines

Yesterday Justice Secretary Robert Buckland admitted the government may not meet its goal of 100,000 testing target.

• Ultimately this is not about targets and arbitrary deadlines. This is about the fact we have millions of frontline workers who have not been tested and the that Government still seems miles away from establishing the testing and tracing infrastructure we need to safely manage the move out of lockdown.
• Yesterday we saw the number of deaths reach 26,000, each one a tragedy, and the true number of deaths could be significantly higher.
• The Government should be developing a proper strategy for a test, trace and isolate system immediately rather than arbitrary targets they fail to meet.