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Covid Inquiry Module 1

The hearings relating to Module 1 began on 12th June 2023 and concluded on 19th July 2023.  The Inquiry have announced that they expect to publish their findings for Module 1 in Summer 2024.

Module 1 scope

Module 1 of the UK Covid Inquiry will look at the UK Government’s preparedness for a pandemic. Investigations will be carried out to scrutinise resilience, planning and preparedness across the UK. The module will look at the UK’s preparedness for “whole-system civil emergencies, including resourcing, the system of risk management and pandemic readiness.”

Baroness Hallett has outlined a provisional scope for this module, and will examine:

  1. The basic characteristics and epidemiology of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and Coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
  2. The Government structures and specialist bodies concerned with risk management and civil emergency planning, including devolved administrations and their structures, local authorities and private sector bodies, historical changes to such structures and bodies as well as the structures in place as at January 2020, inter-organisational processes and cooperation.
  3. The planning for a pandemic, including forecasting, resources, and the learning from past simulation exercises (including coronavirus, new and emerging high-consequence infectious diseases and influenza pandemic/epidemic exercises), the emergency plans that were in place, biosecurity issues relevant to the risk of pandemics/epidemics, international comparisons and the history of, and learning from, past policy-related investigations.
  4. Public health services, including the structure of public health bodies, their development over time and readiness and preparation in practice; public health capacity, resources and levels of funding, any impact arising from the UK’s departure from the European Union, and the way in which relevant bodies monitored and communicated about emerging disease.
  5. Economic planning by relevant Government bodies, including capacity and spending commitments and efficiency and anti-fraud controls, in the context of emergency planning.
  6. Planning for future pandemics, including (in outline) the state of international preparedness; the risks of new variants of Covid 19, other viruses of concern, and diseases from human contact/viral transmission with animals.

You can read the full provisional scope here.

Core Participant Status for Module 1

The Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group have been awarded Core Participant status in Module 2 of the Covid Inquiry, with Broudie Jackson Canter instructed as their Recognised Legal Representative. 

If you are bereaved and aren’t involved in the Inquiry but wish to be, we encourage you to join the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group to have your voice represented in this Inquiry.

Join the group