Watch session 6 (Wednesday 21 April) again: The devastating differential impact of Covid and the pandemic on BAME people came as a shock but not really a surprise. Even prior to the pandemic there was strong evidence that racism, unequal education, job and economic opportunities, housing and access to healthcare affected the health of people in BAME communities unequally. The Covid pandemic and the role of key workers who carried on working, who could not work at home, and who kept the transport, health, and other services going, compounded all of these issues for BAME people and were reflected in the illness and death rate. The impact of Covid has also fallen differentially on women in many important ways. Our inquiry asks: was there any serious appraisal of risk for sections of our society who experience inequalities and discrimination? What has the outcome been and how has the Government responded?


Witnesses: Mary-Ann Stephenson, Director, Women's Budget Group, Kamlesh Khunti, Professor of Primary Care Diabetes & Vascular Medicine, University of Leicester, member of government advisory body SAGE, Chair of SAGE Ethnicity Sub-Group and member of Independent SAGE, Dr Latifa Patel, British Medical Association (Personal Capacity), Aliya Yule, Migrants Organi