Today, the Chair of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry, Baroness Hallett, has opened the Inquiry’s eighth investigation examining the impact of the pandemic on children and young people and has set out plans to open two further investigations in 2024.
This eighth investigation will focus on the impact of the pandemic on children and young people, the decisions taken and the extent to which children were considered. The pandemic affected children and young people in many different ways; they lost loved ones, academic opportunities, years of social development and interaction with family and friends.
Our Children and Young People's Voices research project will make sure that the Inquiry hears from a wide range of those children and young people.
Every Story Matters - our nationwide listening exercise - is also collecting the stories of parents, carers, teachers and others who played such important roles in the lives of children and young people during that time.
Module 8 will investigate the impact of the pandemic on children across society including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. It will consider a diverse range of backgrounds, the impact of decision-making on children and young people and the long-term consequences of the pandemic. More details of the areas of investigation are included in the provisional scope for Module 8.
The Core Participant application window will be open from 21 May to 17 June 2024.
The Chair can also confirm the broad areas of the Inquiry’s next investigations.
Module 9 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 impact of the pandemic in various ways, including on the mental health and wellbeing of the population. Further details will be published at that time
A full list of the topics that the Inquiry will investigate can be found in our Terms of Reference.
The Chair continues to aim to end public hearings in 2026.
The Inquiry is split into different investigations – or ‘Modules’ – which will examine different parts of the UK’s preparedness for and response to the pandemic and its impact.
So far, the Inquiry has opened seven investigations.
Module 1 (The UK’s pandemic preparedness and resilience) and Module 2, 2A, 2B, and 2C (Core political and administrative decision making in the UK and devolved administrations) have been completed.
To ensure the Inquiry’s recommendations are timely, the Chair has promised to publish regular reports. She plans to publish the report for Module 1 this summer.
The updated schedule of hearings is as follows:
| Module | Opened on… | Investigating… | Dates |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 8 November 2022 | The impact of the pandemic on healthcare systems | Monday 9 September – Thursday 10 October 2024 Break: Monday 14 October – Friday 25 October 2024 Monday 28 October – Thursday 28 November 2024 |
| 4 | 5 June 2023 | Vaccines, therapeutics and anti-viral treatment across the UK | Tuesday 14 January – Thursday 30 January 2025 |
| 5 | 24 October 2023 | Pandemic procurement across the UK across four weeks of public hearings | Monday 3 March – Thursday 3 April 2025 |
| 7 | 19 March 2024 | Approach to testing, tracing and isolation adopted during the pandemic | Monday 12 May – Friday 30 May 2025 |
| 6 | 12 December 2023 | The care sector across the UK | Summer 2025 |