Baroness Hallett, Chair of the Covid Inquiry, has today issued her Terms of Reference recommendations to the Prime Minister. These recommendations have been formulated based on accounts and feedback from the bereaved families and the public collected during the consultations.
In March of this year, the Covid Inquiry team called on you, the public, to feedback on what you thought should be included in the scope of the upcoming Inquiry. Simultaneously, Elkan Abrahamson, representative of the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group, joined bereaved families across the country as they met with Baroness Hallett to share their experiences directly with the Inquiry team.
Baroness Hallett has since sent a letter directly to Boris Johnson with her recommendations of what she believes the draft Terms of Reference are missing, based on the feedback of the bereaved families and the wider public. As the Minister of the Inquiry, it is now the Prime Minister’s job to decide whether to adopt any of the recommendations into the official Terms of Reference.
All of the recommendations can now be found on the official Inquiry website, along with the letter that the Chair has sent to the Prime Minister, and a summary document of the consultation responses. There have been some major recommendations put forward by the Inquiry team, particularly around:
- Children
- Mental health
- Inequalities
- Extending the investigations into people's first contact with NHS Services, an area that came up extensively in the Chair’s meetings in consultation with the bereaved families.
Nicola Brook, Solicitor representing the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group with Elkan Abrahamson, says:
Throughout the Consultation period, bereaved families shared heart-breaking stories to explain why certain issues needed to be explored in the Inquiry. Having heard those explanations, the Chair is best placed to determine what the final draft of the Terms of Reference should include. We therefore hope and expect that the Prime Minister accepts the recommendations of the Chair in full."
What happens next
We now await the Prime Minister’s response. Alongside the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group, we are urging the Prime Minister to accept the Chair’s recommendations in full. Given the results of the investigation into the Prime Minister’s breaking of lockdown rules, it would not be tenable for him to define the scope of the Inquiry. Elkan Abrahamson says:
Under the Inquiries Act it’s up to the Minister who sets up the Inquiry to finalise the Terms of Reference. I understand the Prime Minister has the power to finalise them, however our point is that under the circumstances it would be inappropriate for him to interfere with the Terms of Reference drafted by the Chair.”
If you’ve lost a loved one to Covid, it isn’t too late to join the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group and be part of this Inquiry. We are fighting for core participation status and striving to ensure that the bereaved families will be at the heart of this Inquiry, where they belong. Find out more about the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group.
Visit our Covid Inquiry FAQ page for answers to some of our commonly asked questions surrounding the Inquiry, next steps, how to instruct free legal representation and more.