Fourth report: Unequal impact? Coronavirus, disability and access to services: full Report

Select Committee
Women and Equalities Committee HC 1050 22 December 2020
Report Status Government responded
Conclusions & Recommendations 22 items (15 recs)
Government Response (AI assessment · 22 of 22 classified)
Government response
Fourth Special Report: Unequal impact? Coronavirus, disability and access to services: Government Response to the Committee’s Fourth Report · published 14 Apr 2021

Recommendations & Conclusions

11 results
1 Conclusion Not Addressed
We welcome the Government’s decision to discontinue the Coronavirus Act’s Mental Health Act provisions, which...
Conclusion
We welcome the Government’s decision to discontinue the Coronavirus Act’s Mental Health Act provisions, which potentially relaxed requirements for sectioning, against the grain of overdue and much-needed reforms, and which thankfully proved to be unnecessary in England. We will continue … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government response does not address the committee's comments on Mental Health Act, Care Act, or Children and Families Act provisions; instead, it discusses ensuring fair access to food in shops.
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5 Recommendation Not Addressed
Ministers paused the national shielding programme in August and in September asserted that “we need...
Recommendation
Ministers paused the national shielding programme in August and in September asserted that “we need to get away from the food parcel model”, without offering any evidence of the Government’s assessment of the level of disabled people’s needs for help … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government's response did not address the recommendation to publish an assessment of disabled people's food access needs or a plan for reviewing local support arrangements; instead, it discussed NHS health checks and mask wearing.
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6 Conclusion Not Addressed
Para 37
We will continue to push for greater accountability and transparency while Care Act easements remain...
Conclusion
We will continue to push for greater accountability and transparency while Care Act easements remain available to local authorities and for their swift repeal should the pandemic become more clearly under control before or at the next six-monthly parliamentary review, … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government's response did not address the committee's conclusion regarding Care Act easements, instead discussing clear face masks and funding for social care, which relates to other recommendations.
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7 Conclusion Not Addressed
Para 54
Early in the pandemic, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) critical care...
Conclusion
Early in the pandemic, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) critical care guidelines and doctors’ inappropriate or blanket use of “Do not attempt resuscitation” (DNAR) notices were potentially discriminatory. While we welcome actions taken swiftly to address … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government's response did not address the committee's conclusion regarding discriminatory practices in DNARs and critical care guidelines, instead discussing social care funding.
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8 Recommendation Not Addressed
Para 55
The Equality Act 2010’s Public Sector Equality Duty is intended to ensure public authorities have...
Recommendation
The Equality Act 2010’s Public Sector Equality Duty is intended to ensure public authorities have due regard, including in their decision making, policies and service delivery, to achieving the Act’s objectives, which include the elimination of discrimination against groups of … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government's response did not address the recommendation for it to consent to a statutory Code of Practice on the Public Sector Equality Duty, instead focusing on social care funding.
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9 Recommendation Not Addressed
Para 64
Prior to the pandemic, people with learning disabilities experienced health inequalities and faced difficulties accessing...
Recommendation
Prior to the pandemic, people with learning disabilities experienced health inequalities and faced difficulties accessing healthcare and receiving accurate diagnoses and effective treatments. They had increased risks of dying from a range of illnesses, including respiratory infections. These problems have … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government response does not address the recommendation about setting targets for the reintroduction of annual health checks for people with learning disabilities, instead discussing a new plan for education for children with special educational needs.
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10 Recommendation Not Addressed
Para 68
The widespread adoption of continuous facemask wearing in health and social care settings has made...
Recommendation
The widespread adoption of continuous facemask wearing in health and social care settings has made effective communication impossible for patients and healthcare professionals who lip-read, and much more difficult for Deaf people who use British Sign Language and people with … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government's response discusses funding for special educational needs and disability (SEND) education, not addressing the recommendation regarding clear facemasks or the request for updates on their distribution and assessment of need.
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12 Recommendation Not Addressed
The Government must bring forward a social care reform package, which includes the whole sector,...
Recommendation
The Government must bring forward a social care reform package, which includes the whole sector, in this financial year. There has been a tendency by successive governments to focus on the problem of rising costs of caring for elderly people, … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government's response discusses optional training for Ministers on communicating with disabled people, completely failing to address the recommendation for a comprehensive social care reform package addressing funding, workforce issues, and integration of services.
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13 Conclusion Not Addressed
Para 87
Our interim Report made several recommendations about how the Secretary of State should use his...
Conclusion
Our interim Report made several recommendations about how the Secretary of State should use his powers in relation to duties towards children and young people’s educational, health and care needs, if they are required again during the pandemic. We also … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government's response highlights its efforts to provide accessible information about Coronavirus and collaborate with disability organizations, but it does not address the committee's points on the Secretary of State's powers or guidance regarding children and young people's SEND needs.
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14 Recommendation Not Addressed
Para 98
Delivering effective support for children and young people with SEND during a public health crisis...
Recommendation
Delivering effective support for children and young people with SEND during a public health crisis was inevitably a massive challenge, to which some local authorities were unable to rise. The pandemic demonstrated and exacerbated a widely acknowledged pre-existing crisis in … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government's response discusses British Sign Language provision in the House of Commons, completely failing to address the recommendation on prioritizing and publishing the SEND review.
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16 Recommendation Not Addressed
We agree that catch up funding should be weighted towards children who have been “hardest...
Recommendation
We agree that catch up funding should be weighted towards children who have been “hardest hit” by disruption to their education. We know that many children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) will be in the hardest hit group; … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government's response discusses the Equality Hub's work on making coronavirus information accessible, completely failing to address the recommendation for increased and ring-fenced catch-up funding for pupils with SEND or an additional strand of specialist provision.
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