Recommendations submitted to Scotland’s Expert Advisory Group on COVID and ethnicity

Date: 4th September 2020
Category: Disability, Basic Health and Welfare

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Lockdown has resulted in higher levels of poverty and destitution and has disproportionately impacted members of minority ethnic communities, especially people with No Recourse to Public Funds. The Ethnic Minority National Resilience Network has set out the priority actions Scottish Government should take to mitigate this disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on minority ethnic patients, health staff and communities.

The Ethnic Minority National Resilience Network is a collaboration of organisations working to respond to COVID-19 social and health issues in Scotland. Priority actions recommended by the Network include:

• Introducing an emergence sustenance payment to those with No Recourse to Public Funds and minority ethnic communities who require additional financial support in the event of more restrictive lockdowns.
• Explicitly acknowledge that No Recourse to Public Funds immigration policy punished children and others based on they or their parent’s nationality.
• Emergency sustenance payments available to ‘undocumented’ migrants and victims of human trafficking for the purpose of modern-day slavery.
• Identify and invest in bespoke, multilingual, and multi-cultural mental health services

Read all of the recommendations here.