The UK COVID-19 Inquiry
The United Kingdom (UK) COVID-19 Inquiry (here) is an independent public inquiry, examining the response to the impact of the pandemic to learn lessons for the future. The inquiry began on the 28th June 2022 and is being led by Baroness Hallett, a former judge and crossbench peer who previously led the inquests into the 7th July London bombings.
The inquiry is divided into different parts called Modules, which are announced and worked through in sequence. Each Module is focused on a different topic with its own public hearings and where the chair hears evidence. Following these hearings, recommendations for changes are developed and put into a module report. These reports contain findings from the evidence collected across each Module and provide government recommendations for any future pandemics.
Disability Rights UK (DR UK), Disability Action Northern Ireland (DANI), Inclusion Scotland (IS) and Disability Wales (DW) have elected to work together as a collective to represent disabled people’s voices, on the inquiry, across the UK. These organisations have been classed as ‘Core Participants’ across a range of Modules and are asked to provide evidence to these modules.
Although DR UK were not involved as Core Participants for Module 1, they were asked to provide evidence to assist the Inquiry on this Module. Kamran Mallick, the CEO of DR UK, Witness Statement is publicly available here.
Module 1 - Resilience and Preparedness
The first report and recommendations of the COVID-19 Inquiry was released on the 18th July 2024. Module 1 focused on the resilience and preparedness of the UK in relation to the pandemic. Resilience means the UK’s strength and ability to cope with a pandemic. Preparedness means did the UK plan well before the pandemic.
The report is available, including all accessible formats, on the website here.
The inquiry highlighted significant flaws in UK preparedness to manage such a pandemic. Although plans had been mapped out for an influenza, also known as flu outbreak, preparedness and resilience was not adequate for the global pandemic that occurred.
Here is a basic summary of the findings:
- The involvement of numerous institutions and structures complicated the process of Emergency Planning.
- Inadequate risk assessment and planning resulted in a failure to effectively manage and prevent risks, as well as respond to them.
- Existing health and social inequalities were not sufficiently considered in Emergency Planning, and there was a lack of engagement with local authorities and volunteers.
- The UK government's pandemic strategy, developed in 2011, was inflexible and unable to adapt to the challenges of the 2020 pandemic.
- Lessons from previous civil emergency exercises and disease outbreaks were not fully incorporated.
- Insufficient attention was given to the outdated and complex systems for testing, tracing, and isolating, which caused delays and confusion.
- Ministers, who often lack specialised training, did not receive a wide range of scientific advice and failed to question the advice they did receive.
- Advisors were not given the freedom to express diverse opinions, resulting in a lack of different perspectives. 'Groupthink' undermined the effectiveness of their advice.
Needless to say, if the UK government had been better prepared, massive financial, economic and human costs of the COVID-19 pandemic could have been avoided.
Summary of Recommendations:
Based on the findings, the Module 1 report recommends a major overhaul of how the UK Government and devolved administration's in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales prepare for whole systems civil emergencies. A comprehensive description of the recommendations can be found in the Module 1 report (here).
10 full recommendations were made, but here’s a summary of some key recommendations:
- Simplify and streamline the civil emergency preparedness and resilience systems by reducing bureaucracy and establishing clearer ministerial and official structures and leadership. Improve risk assessment methods to comprehensively evaluate a wider range of actual risks.
- Develop a new UK-wide approach to strategy development that incorporates lessons from the past, regular civil emergency exercises, and considers existing inequalities and vulnerabilities. Enhance data collection and sharing systems in preparation for future pandemics and commission a broader range of research projects.
- Conduct a UK-wide pandemic response exercise at least every three years, involving external experts to challenge and mitigate the risk of 'groupthink.' Publish the outcomes of these exercises.
- Regularly publish reports on the state of civil emergency preparedness and resilience.
- Establish an independent statutory body responsible for overseeing the entire preparedness and response system. This body will consult extensively with experts in the field, as well as the voluntary, community, and social sectors, providing strategic advice to the government and making recommendations.
These recommendations are designed to be implemented and work together to produce real change in how the UK prepares for emergencies like pandemics. The chair expects that all recommendations are acted upon and implemented within the timeframes set out in the recommendations.
The inquiry will be monitoring the implementation of the recommendations during its lifetime.
Future Modules
Future Modules will focus on specific areas including core UK decision making and political governance including Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Health and social care systems, vaccines and therapeutics, procurement and distribution of key equipment and supplies, test trace and isolate programs, children and young people and the economic response to the pandemic.
We would welcome hearing from you to share your experience during the pandemic. In particular, we are looking for your experience in relation:
- Module 4 - vaccines and therapeutics and the rollout of the vaccination programme
- Module 6 - the impact of the pandemic on the publicly and privately funded adult social care sector across the UK
Your voice is vital so that lessons can be learned and the government is held to account.
If you would like to share your experience, please email: rupy.kaur-roberts@disabilityrightsuk.org