Petition · past parliament

Publish the review on how Covid-19 is disproportionally affecting BAME citizens

Rejected 20 signatures

What the petition asks

The review on how and why Covid-19 is killing more BAME UK citizens was due at the end of May. Now the government has delayed the publication of the report based on fears that it will stoke 'racial tensions'.

This is a disgraceful excuse. BAME people are dying and the government must act.
BAME UK citizens are dying at more than double the rates of their white counterparts. People of Black Caribbean background are dying 1.7 times the rate of white people.

Health secretary Matt Hancock said in early May: 'Matt Hancock, said: “We recognise that there has been a disproportionately high number of people from black and ethnic minority backgrounds who have passed away.'

The government are 'recognising' the problem yet refusing to acknowledge their part in it.

Why it was rejected

The UK Government or Parliament was already taking the action it asked for.

Since you started your petition the Government has published two reviews by Public Health England.

COVID-19: review of disparities in risks and outcomes: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-review-of-disparities-in-risks-and-outcomes

Understanding the impact of COVID-19 on BAME groups: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-understanding-the-impact-on-bame-communities

You can find out more about coronavirus and how you can protect yourself and others here:

www.gov.uk/coronavirus
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/

The Government has also created an online service to help you find out what you can do if you’re struggling because of coronavirus: https://www.gov.uk/find-coronavirus-support

You can read NHS tips to help if you are worried about coronavirus here: https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/coronavirus-covid-19-anxiety-tips

You can read impartial analysis of the Government response to coronavirus and policy developments here: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/coronavirus/

You may also be interested to know that because of the large number of petitions that have been started in relation to coronavirus, the Petitions Committee has been questioning the Government about its response to the coronavirus outbreak.

Find out more: https://committees.parliament.uk/work/192/the-governments-response-to-coronavirus/

Timeline

2 Jun 2020 Petition opened for signatures
10 Jul 2020 Rejected by the Petitions Committee

Key facts

Signatures 20
Status Rejected
Rejected 10 Jul 2020

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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.