The UK Covid-19 Inquiry Newsletter dated June 2024.
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Introduction from Laurie McGurk, Information and Programme Director
Hello, I’m Laurie McGurk and have recently joined the Inquiry as the new Information and Programme Director. My role is to look after the huge amount of information gathered by the UK Covid-19 Inquiry in the form of documents and other evidence submitted over the course of our investigations. Following the Chair’s decisions on the order and duration of each investigation, my team also supports her and the Inquiry’s solicitors in putting a pIan in place. This involves working with Baroness Hallett and colleagues to plan the hearing timetables as well as ensuring we can release findings and information to the public as quickly as possible.
This takes me to the main focus of this newsletter. We are nearing a very important milestone for the Inquiry with our Chair, Baroness Hallett, publishing her findings and recommendations from our first investigation into resilience and preparedness (Module 1) next month. We will share the report in the next newsletter. This will be the first report of several, with future reports following our investigations into the impact of the pandemic on core political and administrative decision making, healthcare, vaccines, procurement, the care sector, test trace and isolate and children and young people.
Our Every Story Matters events programme is in full swing with the team having just visited Llandudno in Wales to listen to people’s experiences of the pandemic in their local communities. I would like to thank everybody who came along to speak to us and hope that those of you who spared us your time feel encouraged to share your story with the Inquiry.
We will be going to Blackpool tomorrow – do come along and find out about how you can have your say about the pandemic via Every Story Matters if you haven’t already taken part and check our events page to see when we are coming to a location near you.
Thank you for your interest in the Inquiry and keep reading for further updates.
Inquiry publishes first report following investigation into resilience and preparedness for a pandemic
On Thursday 18 July the Inquiry will publish Baroness Hallett’s first report setting out her findings and recommendations following an investigation into resilience and preparedness (Module 1). Hearings for this investigation took place in Summer 2023. This report will be about what happened before the pandemic, examining questions such as: Was the risk of a Coronavirus pandemic properly identified and planned for? Was the UK ready for a pandemic?
The report will be on the Inquiry website at midday on 18 July with Baroness Hallett presenting her recommendations in a live streamed statement on the Inquiry’s YouTube channel soon after.
This report is not the Inquiry’s only report – it is the first of several. Future reports will be published following each investigation. Each report will provide recommendations on different aspects of the Inquiry’s work so that the lessons from the pandemic are learnt as quickly as possible. Issues such as core political and administrative decision making, healthcare, vaccines, procurement, the care sector, test trace and isolate and children and young people will be covered in these later reports.
The report will be available to view and download from the Inquiry website. It will be available in the following formats:
- Full report (with translation of all languages available on our website)
- Summary (in English and Welsh) – a short summary of the report findings and recommendations
- Other accessible formats, including a British Sign Language summary and Easy Read summary
In addition, a short explainer film will be published on the website.
Thank you to those of you who provided us with valuable advice on which formats this report should take so the report is accessible.
There will be the opportunity to watch the Chair’s statement, taking place shortly after midday on Thursday 18 July, from the viewing room of our hearing centre, Dorland House. Places can be booked to watch the Chair’s statement on a first come, first served basis via a booking form that will be live on the Reports page of our website from 12pm, Monday 8 July.
As part of Module 1 the Inquiry heard evidence from a variety of expert witnesses and decision makers in relation to the UK’s central government structures and procedures for pandemic emergency preparedness, resilience and response. It also heard from some of those who were bereaved by Covid-19. You can read more in the outline of scope for this investigation.
Links to watch the hearings for this investigation on YouTube can be found on the website.
https://youtu.be/1YwbMzkUMV8
About the structure of the Inquiry
The UK Covid-19 Inquiry was established to investigate the UK’s pandemic response, find out what happened and why. The Inquiry Chair, Baroness Heather Hallett, will publish regular reports and recommendations so that changes can be implemented as soon as possible to ensure the UK is better prepared for the next pandemic.
The Inquiry has split its work into different investigations, known as modules. Each module focuses on a different way in which the pandemic impacted the UK. The Inquiry’s Terms of Reference outline the topics that the Inquiry will investigate.
Eight modules are currently underway. These are outlined as follows:
| Investigation name | Topic |
|---|---|
| Module 1 | Resilience and preparedness |
| Module 2, 2A, 2B and 2C | Core UK decision making and political governance (with sub-investigations into the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish devolved administrations) |
| Module 3 | Impact of the pandemic on healthcare systems across the four nations of the UK |
| Module 4 | Vaccines and therapeutics |
| Module 5 | Procurement (how healthcare equipment and supplies were purchased by the government and public bodies) |
| Module 6 | Care sector |
| Module 7 | Test, Trace and Isolate |
| Module 8 | Children and Young People |
The Inquiry’s ninth investigation will focus on the economic response to the pandemic. This investigation will open in July 2024.
The Inquiry expects to announce a further investigation later in the Autumn which will explore the different impacts of the pandemic, including on the mental health and wellbeing of the population.
Each module will have preliminary hearings, during which the approach and scope of the investigation will be discussed by Counsel to the Inquiry and Core Participants before Baroness Hallett.
What/who is a Core Participant?
A ‘Core Participant’ is a person, institution or organisation that has a specific interest in the work of the Inquiry, and has a formal role defined by legislation. Core Participants have special rights in the Inquiry process. These include receiving documentation, being represented and making legal submissions, suggesting questions and receiving advance notice of the Inquiry’s report. You do not need to be a Core Participant to provide evidence to the Inquiry.
The preliminary hearing will be followed by public hearings during which witnesses provide evidence under oath to the Inquiry.
The Inquiry will publish findings and recommendations following each investigation.
Every Story Matters explainer video
Another important source of impact evidence for each investigation is Every Story Matters. Anybody aged 18 and over who was in the UK during the pandemic is encouraged to share their experiences via our web form (other formats including paper copies are available on request, please email contact@covid19.public-inquiry.uk for further information). Every story shared helps the Inquiry to understand and assess the full picture of how the pandemic impacted lives and will be invaluable in shaping the Inquiry’s recommendations. Each experience will be reviewed and fed into a record of responses relevant to each of our investigations. They are then anonymised and used in evidence.
We have created a short video that explains what happens after you have submitted your experiences and how they inform the Inquiry’s investigations.
You can watch the video on YouTube. It is also on the Every Story Matters webpage.
Every Story Matters in British Sign Language
We have been running a pilot to test whether people wish to share their experiences with Every Story Matters through British Sign Language (BSL). The pilot ends on Monday 1 July and can be accessed on our website.
We have also partnered with SignHealth to run focus group sessions for BSL users on Monday 24 June. These will enable BSL users to share their story in a group setting. More information is on SignHealth’s website.
Update on seventh investigation, Test, Trace and Isolate
The Inquiry will be holding an initial preliminary hearing for its investigation into ‘Test, Trace and Isolate’ (Module 7).
The preliminary hearing will be held at Dorland House, 121 Westbourne Terrace, London, W2 6BU (map) on Thursday 27 June at 10.30am.
Module 7 will look at, and make recommendations on, the approach to testing, tracing and isolation adopted during the pandemic.
The hearing is open to the public to attend in person – information on how to attend is published on our website. The hearing can also be watched on the Inquiry’s YouTube channel.
Please see the news story on our website for more information.
Inquiry encourages carers to share their experiences
As part of Carers Week 2024 (10-16 June), the Inquiry and partner organisations in the care sector encouraged carers to share their pandemic experiences via Every Story Matters. You might have seen news coverage in the Daily Mail, Independent and London Evening Standard. Other outlets that covered the news include Times & Star, Yahoo! News and multiple regional newspapers.
We would like to thank all the organisations working with carers who are partnering with us to raise awareness of Every Story Matters.
If you have experience of the care sector, either as a recipient of care yourself, as a care worker or caring for a loved one, please do share your story with us if you haven’t yet done so. We are hoping for as many experiences to be shared by the end of July as possible to inform our sixth investigation into the care sector.
The Inquiry team visits communities
The Inquiry team has visited Llandudno to speak with local people about how they can share their pandemic experiences with the Inquiry via Every Story Matters. Thank you to everyone who spoke with us in Llandudno.
We will be in Blackpool tomorrow, Saturday 22 June, at The Grand Theatre. Do come along and speak with us if you are nearby.
Our next events are:
| Location | Event Date(s) | Venue | Address |
|---|---|---|---|
| Luton | Monday 8 – Tuesday 9 July 2024 | University of Bedfordshire: Luton Campus | University Square, Luton, LU1 3JU |
| Folkestone | Friday 12 July 2024 | Leafs Cliff Hall | The Leas, Folkestone, CT20 2DZ |
| Ipswich | Monday 5 – Tuesday 6 August 2024 | Ipswich Town Hall | Cornhill, Ipswich, IP1 1DH |
| Norwich | Wednesday 7 August 2024 | The Forum | Millennium Plain, Norwich, NR2 1TF |
More information about these and other upcoming events are on the events page of the website.
Bereaved Forum
Did you lose a loved one during the pandemic? Do you want to get more involved in the Inquiry’s work?
The Inquiry has set up a ‘bereaved forum’ – which is a group of people who lost loved ones during the pandemic, who are consulted on aspects of our work. Forum participants provide their advice based on their personal experiences to inform the Inquiry’s approach to Every Story Matters and commemoration.
The bereaved forum is open to anyone who lost a loved one during the pandemic between 2020 and 2022.
Those on the bereaved forum will receive a regular email detailing opportunities to provide the Inquiry with advice on our Every Story Matters and commemoration work.
If you are interested in joining the forum mailing list, please email engagement@covid19.public-inquiry.uk.