Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to make new COVID-19 regulations specifically to protect BAME communities from the virus.

For each change in restrictions, formal assessments are made through a Public Sector Equality Duty analysis, under section 149(1) of the Equality Act 2010. This along with other appropriate assessments considers the potential impacts on groups with protected characteristics as a result of restrictions.

Where outbreaks occur in areas where there are large black, Asian and minority ethnic communities, local authorities should use their local knowledge to engage with and support those communities and we work with local authorities to consider whether national interventions are needed to protect people living in the area.