The expert reference group on Covid and ethnicity will meet for the second time right after the committee’s meeting. I attended the group’s first meeting and I will attend the second one, too. Five targeted pieces of work have been developed, which will not come as a surprise to the committee.
The first piece of work is on understanding the data, which we have already spoken about. Analysts in the Scottish Government, Public Health Scotland and National Records of Scotland are carrying out further work on the data to review what we have and to create a clearer picture of the impact of Covid on minority ethnic communities in Scotland. The data that we currently have tells us that there is not much of a difference here, but that is heavily caveated, because the data is not complete. That is why that piece of work needs to be done.
The second piece of work is on workplace assessments and protecting front-line workers who are from black, Asian and minority ethnic communities. We have implemented interim national guidance on that, so that risk assessments are carried out and reviewed appropriately. That process is carried out along with the member of staff, to make sure that they are fully protected and enabled to continue to do their job.
The third piece of work was a targeted marketing campaign that we ran, especially through Ramadan, to get the messages about Covid out in a format and a language that people understood. We targeted some of our minority ethnic communities by using other media platforms and bespoke radio stations.
The fourth piece of work is on direct engagement. Most of my work over the past three months has involved meeting stakeholders and asking them what is being done, how it is being done, what we can do to redress the situation and what ideas they have about working together. That work will continue.
In addition, as the committee knows, we have set up the Covid and ethnicity reference group, which I will meet later today. I can give a quick rundown of the membership of the group, although it might not be complete, because we might bring in additional expertise as we go along. You will know Ima Jackson, as she has given evidence to the committee. Vittal Katikireddi is a senior clinical research fellow at the University of Glasgow and a consultant in public health. Douglas Anderson is a senior actuary who specialises in longevity and diversity. Raj Bhopal is emeritus professor of public health at the University of Edinburgh. Jatin Haria is from the Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights. Rami Ousta from BEMIS is also a member, because we felt that it was important to have stakeholder voices represented on the group. Aisha Holloway is the head of nursing studies at Edinburgh university. Kaliani Lyle is the Scottish Government’s former race equality framework adviser. Nasar Meer is professor of race, identity and citizenship at Edinburgh university’s school of social and political science. Gina Netto is a reader in the school of the built environment at Heriot-Watt University who specialises in ethnicity and social justice.
As those names demonstrate, we have a pretty broad range of academics and health professionals on the group. We also have a number of Scottish Government advisers and officials on the group, including our data experts.
The membership list of the social renewal advisory board, which I think met for the first time last week, is much longer. For the sake of time, I could send the list to the committee, if that would be helpful. It includes people such as Angela O’Hagan, Anna Fowlie, Bill Scott, Councillor Alison Evison and Eileen Cawley from the Scottish Pensioners Forum. The set-up will be a bit like that of the national advisory council on women and girls in that, in addition to an advisory board, there will be individual circles that will focus on specific topics. Some of those topics have already emerged; they include food security and access to food, and housing and all the issues that go along with that. Shirley-Anne Somerville and I will be involved in a circle on age and disability. In that way, we want to target all the various intersections.
People from the social security and older people and communities and local government portfolios, along with housing, disability, poverty and homelessness experts and third sector representatives, are all involved in that. The membership list is extensive, so I will get officials to send it over to the committee so that members know exactly who is on the social renewal advisory board.