BLACK, ASIAN and minority ethnic (BAME) staff across the Greater London Authority family will have access to risk assessments as part of measures to help those disproportionately affected by Covid-19.

The initiative was launched by Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan who said that the risk assessments will be open to those working across the GLA including Transport for London, The Metropolitan Police and London Fire Brigade.

The risk assessments will complement existing work across the GLA to support staff which includes working with staff support groups and unions to ensure that all staff with underlying health conditions are working from home, making face masks available to frontline transport workers and  measures to reduce social contact.

 The support is being offered in response to increasing evidence showing that Black, Asian and minority ethnic people are disproportionately likely to be impacted by COVID-19.

Khan said: “Far from being a great leveller, the coronavirus crisis has exposed the unacceptable major inequalities in our society.

“We owe it to every Londoner, regardless of background or ethnicity, to be able to live and work in safety. That’s why I am doing all I can to ensure that colleagues from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds have access to the physical and mental health support they may need in order to effectively serve our city.

Wake-up call

“This pandemic must be a wake-up call to our country and we need the government to show their commitment to tackling these great injustices and immediately commission an independent public inquiry that will properly address this issue.”

Mayoral Health Advisor, Dr Tom Coffey OBE said: “These are challenging times for everyone but it is clear that black, Asian and minority ethnic communities are being disproportionately affected by COVID-19.

“As lockdown eases, workplaces have a responsibility to ensure staff are able to continue or resume work safely.

“I am proud that black, Asian and minority ethnic colleagues at City Hall and across the GLA family, will be supported in a way that not only considers their physical health needs but their mental health needs too.”

Recently published figures from the  Office for National Statistics show that black men and women are nearly twice as likely to die from coronavirus than white Britons after taking into account age and socio-demographic factors.

Study

Another study, by City Hall’s Intelligence Unit, shows that the highest COVID-19 death rate in London is an area of Newham, where 82 per cent of the population are BAME, one in three is in insecure employment and there are high levels of deprivation, obesity and diabetes.

The second highest is in a part of Harrow which has a high proportion of its population over the age of 70, and high levels of poor health. 

The third highest is in an area of Brent, where 67 per cent of the population is from a BAME background, and there are high levels of obesity and diabetes.

Khan has previously raised concerns about the impact of the virus on BAME communities, successfully lobbying Ministers to routinely collect and publish demographics of those dying in hospital.