Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities in Calderdale being disproportionately affected by COVID

In December 2020, the West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership signed off a new plan setting out actions that all partners, including Calderdale Council, can take to support Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities and staff.

As part of the the plan and its ongoing work on inclusion and equality, Cabinet Members will assess whether current activity is helping to achieve a fair future for the borough's communities, especially on issues such as education, public health and mental health services, and will look at where more work needs to be done.

Unfortunately, BAME communities are being disproportionately affected by COVID-19 in Calderdale and across the country according to the Council. This, added to existing health inequalities in communities, has an impact on quality of life, life expectancy and experience of work.

To help address these inequalities, Cabinet Members will be asked to formally adopt the action plan launched by the West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership after it had completed its BAME review.

Councillor Jane Scullion, Calderdale Council’s Deputy Leader, said: “We are proud of the diversity and togetherness that define our local communities, and we embrace the major contribution of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people to make Calderdale a stronger and more enriched place.

“We are committed to embedding equality and inclusion in everything we do, both locally and regionally, working with our partner organisations and local people.

"There is a lot of positive action being taken, but we know there is more to do to ensure that our health and care system, and our recovery from COVID-19, are fair and meet the needs of all our diverse communities.

“To address the disproportionate impact that COVID-19 is having on our BAME communities, we continue to support people in high-risk jobs and lobbied government at the start of the pandemic to record ethnicity on death certificates to gain fuller data on which to base decisions.

"Signing up to the West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership action plan would build on this work and further cement our commitment to equality at a local and regional level.”

Calderdale Council’s Cabinet meeting will be held on Monday March 29 from 6pm. The meeting will be live streamed on the Council’s YouTube channel.