Inquiry sets out 2026 schedule

The UK Covid-19 Inquiry has announced its plans for 2026. In what will be a busy year for the Inquiry, it will hold its final set of public hearings for its Impact on Society investigation (Module 10) from Monday 16 February – Thursday 5 March.

The Inquiry will also publish a further five reports covering Healthcare Systems, Vaccines and Therapeutics, Procurement, the Care Sector and Test, Trace and Isolate.

These reports will be published following thorough analysis of the evidence submitted to the Inquiry for each investigation. The Chair of the Inquiry, Baroness Hallett, will set out her findings and recommendations in the reports, with the expectation that all accepted recommendations be implemented without delay.

On 19 March 2026, the Inquiry will publish its Module 3 report on Healthcare Systems, followed by the publication of the Module 4 report on Vaccines and Therapeutics on 16 April. These reports follow public hearings held in September – November 2024 and January 2025.

Summer 2026 will see the publication of the Module 5 report, examining Procurement. Towards the end of the year, reports will be published for Module 6, investigating the Care Sector and Module 7, investigating Test, Trace and Isolate.

The remaining three reports will be published in the first half of 2027. 

The first quarter of 2026 also sees the Inquiry’s hearings for its tenth and last investigation, Impact on Society. This module will examine the impact of the pandemic on the population of the UK, with particular focus on mental health and wellbeing, key workers, the most vulnerable and the bereaved. Hearings will take place from 16 February to 5 March 2026 at the Inquiry’s hearing centre in London. The investigation will also be informed by three Every Story Matters Records and insights from nine roundtables held last year to gather information about the experiences of individuals, communities and groups during the pandemic.

Hugo Keith KC has stepped down as Counsel to the Inquiry after four intensive years. He led the Inquiry’s design and was lead Counsel in three of the Inquiry’s first four investigations.

Thanking him for his work, Inquiry Chair Baroness Hallett said:

Jacqueline Carey KC has succeeded Mr Keith and became lead Counsel to the Inquiry on 1 January 2026 in addition to her role leading two of the Inquiry’s investigations into Healthcare Systems (Module 3) and the Care Sector (Module 6)

The UK Covid-19 Inquiry is split into 10 different investigations – or ‘Modules’ – which examine different parts of the UK’s preparedness for and response to the pandemic and its impact. The report on the first module, Resilience and Preparedness, was published on 18 July 2024 and the report on the second module, Core UK Decision-Making and Political Governance, was published on 20 November 2025.

A full list of the topics that the Inquiry will investigate can be found in the Terms of Reference.