The UK Covid-19 Inquiry newsletter dated February 2024.
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Message from Samantha Edwards, Director of Communications and Engagement
Welcome to our February newsletter. We have recently concluded three weeks of hearings in Edinburgh for Module 2A, our Scotland-specific investigation, and have been out across the country delivering Every Story Matters events in Scotland, Northern Ireland and the north of England where people could come and share their experience of the pandemic with us in person.
We know that the pandemic affected people differently in different parts of the UK. Meeting people at our hearings in Edinburgh and at Every Story Matters events, I was reminded why hearing their stories is so valuable to what we do. I was recently in Bradford where we spoke with young people about how the pandemic continues to affect their lives, while the team also joined a sign circle with a deaf association in Derry/Londonderry. While in the Glasgow area I spent time with a palliative care nurse who so vividly described what life was like for them during the pandemic. It really underlined why our upcoming investigations into Healthcare and Social Care are so important for us to learn lessons.
We will publicise future events via this newsletter over the coming months and in the meantime please consider sharing your story if you have not already done so, as the experiences shared will help inform Baroness Hallett’s recommendations. You can do so at Every Story Matters.co.uk.
From today the Inquiry will be moving to Cardiff for Module 2B, which is looking at core decision making and political governance in Wales.
While much of our focus has been on preparing for hearings in Cardiff and Belfast, behind the scenes we are also working hard on evidence gathering for Module 3 (Healthcare), Module 4 (Vaccines) and Module 5 (Procurement). We have published more information about planned hearings for these modules on our website and details are also provided later in this newsletter.
Thank you for your continued interest in the Inquiry’s work and I look forward to seeing some of you at our upcoming hearings in Cardiff and Belfast, while I know many more of you will watch from home.
A guide to attending our Module 2B hearings in Wales
Venue and timings
Public hearings for Module 2B – core UK decision making and political governance (Wales) will begin on 27 February at the Mercure Cardiff North Hotel, Circle Way East, Llanedeyrn, Cardiff CF23 9XF. This module will address the issues investigated at a UK-wide level during Module 2 from a Welsh perspective.
Witness timetable
The timetable for Module 2B will be published on the Module 2B hearings page and will be updated each Thursday for the following week.
As a reminder, we send out weekly hearing updates, which provide a summary of witnesses and key issues discussed that week as well as a look-ahead to the following week of hearings. You can subscribe via our newsletter page if you have not already done so.
Public Gallery seat booking system
There is a seating booking system in place for the public gallery in the hearing room. The booking form will go live on our website every Monday at 12pm for the following week. Those booking seats in advance will also be able to indicate whether they require the free minibus service, parking and/or lunch. The booking form will be accessible via the Public Hearings page.
Travel
For those who book seats in the public gallery, and who are not travelling by car, we will provide more information on travel options at the time of your booking. There will be a free minibus service available on hearing days to take people from the train station to the venue with a scheduled service leaving (9.15am) from Cardiff Central train station to the venue. There will be an option to indicate whether you wish to use this service on the seat booking form and we will provide further details once your seat is confirmed.
Parking
For all of those driving to the venue, parking is free in the hotel’s car park – turning left on arrival. When entering you will need to inform the welcome desk of your car registration.
Refreshments
Tea and coffee will be available at the venue. There is also the option to order lunch from the hotel for £10. If you are interested in booking lunch from the hotel you can do this when you arrive or by booking it at the same time you book your seat. If you bring your own lunch you will be able to eat in the ‘lobby’ and the viewing room, but not in the hotel’s restaurant, lounge or bar areas.
More information will be available on the website in due course.
Watching remotely
Hearings will be livestreamed on our YouTube channel, where recordings of past hearings will continue to be uploaded.
You may wish to set up a watching room for your group – we have provided advice on how to do this.
Module 2B will be followed by Module 2C, which will take place in Belfast and will investigate issues from a Northern Irish perspective.
Commemorative artwork in Cardiff
As well as showing an impact film, featuring individuals from across Wales talking about their experience of the pandemic, we will be displaying the following memorial artwork, showcasing Covid memorials that are locally significant:
- A photographic print of The Important Thing Is That You Care tapestry panel– Created by Marie Jones, following conversations with a bereaved person from Wales;
- A print of the Yellow Heart Memorial on Bwlch Mountain in the Rhondda Valley;
- A print of fabric patches stitched by Bereaved Families for Justice Cymru as a tribute to their loved ones;
- A print of Patchwork of Memories; fabric patches stitched by people from across the country and organised by Amgueddfa Cymru / Museum Wales and Cruse Bereavement Support Cymru;
Covid Chronicle, two of which originated in Wales and two from Scotland.
Thank you to Bereaved Families for Justice Cymru, Covid19 Families UK (Wales), the Covid Chronicle and Museum Wales for their involvement in the selection and creation of the artwork that will be on display.
Public hearing dates announced to Spring 2025
The Chair of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry, Baroness Hallett, has set out plans for the public hearings in three further investigations from autumn 2024 until spring 2025.
Public hearings for the Inquiry’s investigations into Healthcare (Module 3), Vaccines and Therapeutics (Module 4) and Procurement (Module 5) will take place over the next 14 months.
Timetable:
- Module 3 will investigate the impact of the pandemic on healthcare systems. Its public hearings will run for 10 weeks in London split by a two-week break:
- Mon 9 Sep – Thur 10 Oct 2024
- Break: Mon 14 – Fri 25 Oct
- Mon 28 Oct – Thu 28 Nov
- Module 4 will examine vaccines, therapeutics and anti-viral treatment across the UK. The Inquiry plans to hear evidence for this investigation from Tuesday 14 January 2025.
- Module 5 will explore Government Procurement across the UK. The Inquiry plans to hear evidence for this investigation from Monday 3 March 2025.
You can read further details of this announcement in the news story on our website.
Would you like to feature in our upcoming Every Story Matters communications?
As we look ahead to this year, we want to put the people who have shared their experience of the pandemic via Every Story Matters at the centre of our communications.
With this in mind we are asking for your help in finding people who would be willing to feature in our upcoming public information activity, explaining why they shared their experience with Every Story Matters, how it made them feel and why they would recommend it to others.
People taking part would need to be willing to have their photo taken and/or be filmed for one of our videos. These would be used on various advertising channels and the Inquiry’s website.
We are still confirming arrangements but interested participants would need to be available to attend one of two shoots week commencing 11 March and further details are available on request.
If you’re interested in taking part please email engagement@covid19.public-
Every Story Matters events in February
We would like to say a huge thank you to the over 1600 people who spoke to us at our Every Story Matters events in Paisley, Derry/Londonderry, Enniskillen, Bradford and Middlesbrough.
From top to bottom: speaking with local community representatives at our Every Story Matters truck in Bradford; a meeting with the Muslim Women’s Council to promote Every Story Matters; preparing to speak with members of the public about Every Story Matters in Derry/Londonderry; discussing the pandemic with young people at one of our listening circles.
Every Story Matters events are a way of finding out more about how to share your story with the Inquiry. Some of these events are targeted for specific groups of people affected by the pandemic, while others are open to the general public.
You might have seen media coverage of our recent events, including on BBC Look North, BBC Radio Leeds and The Telegraph and Argus (Bradford), the Impartial Reporter (Enniskillen) and ITV (Middlesbrough).
In March we will be attending the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health conference in Birmingham and the Self-Directed Support conference in Edinburgh. We don’t have any further public events planned for March and April, but we will update you via this newsletter when we have information about events taking place in the summer.
Bereaved forum
The Inquiry has set up a bereaved forum, open to anyone who lost a loved one during the pandemic between 2020-22.
Forum participants provide valuable insight based on their personal experiences to inform the Inquiry’s approach to Every Story Matters and commemoration.
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.