The UK Covid-19 Inquiry’s work on its tenth and final investigation – Module 10 ‘Impact on Society’ – is accelerating with the announcement at today’s preliminary hearing (Tuesday 18 February) of multiple roundtable sessions set to inform its findings.
The nine themed roundtables will involve representatives from the justice sector, the business sector, religious groups, trade unions, cultural institutions and many more. The events will be held during the next six months as the Inquiry explores the impact of Covid-19 on the population of the United Kingdom, in accordance with its terms of reference.
Module 10 will also investigate the impact of the measures put in place to combat the virus and any disproportionate impact on certain groups. The investigation will seek to identify where societal strengths, resilience and innovation reduced any negative impacts.
The first roundtable session is scheduled for later this month. Over the coming weeks, representatives will be invited to contribute to the work of the Inquiry from a wide variety of fields and sectors, including:
- Religious leaders
- Unions and other organisations representing key workers
- Safeguarding and support for victims of domestic abuse
- Bereavement support
- Prisons and other places of detention and those affected by the operation of the justice system
- Business leaders from the hospitality, retail, travel and tourism industries
- Community level sport and leisure
- Cultural institutions
- Housing and homelessness
All participants will have an opportunity to contribute to the Module 10 investigation, bringing personal and professional insights and expertise to open and collaborative discussions.
Each roundtable will result in an evidence report to be provided to the Chair, Baroness Hallett, before publication on the Inquiry website. These reports, along with other evidence collected, will help inform the Chair’s findings and recommendations.
The Covid-19 pandemic and the measures taken to combat it affected everyone in the UK. These roundtables are an important part of Module 10, our tenth and final investigation. The information they provide on personal and professional experiences of the pandemic will complement the evidence gathered from other sources.
The roundtables will be part of and run alongside our ongoing Module 10 investigation and preparations for our hearings, scheduled for early next year.
For each of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry’s investigations, the Inquiry will produce a report and set of recommendations, published as soon as they are ready after the public hearings have concluded. The Inquiry’s first report, Module 1 ‘Resilience and preparedness’, was published in July 2024. Its second report, Module 2 ‘Core UK decision-making and political governance’ across all four nations of the UK, will be published in autumn 2025.