The Chair of the UK COVID-19 Inquiry, Baroness Heather Hallett, is urging the new UK government and the governments of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to implement 10 key recommendations following publication of the Inquiry’s report of its first investigation into the nation’s resilience and preparedness for the pandemic.
These recommendations, made public on Thursday 18 July 2024, include a major overhaul of how the UK government prepares for civil emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
Key recommendations include a radical simplification of civil emergency preparedness and resilience systems, holding a UK-wide pandemic response exercise at least every three years and the creation of a single, independent statutory body responsible for whole system preparedness and response.
It is the first of several reports setting out the Inquiry’s recommendations and findings, and recommends fundamental reform of the way in which the UK government and the devolved administrations prepare for whole-system civil emergencies.
In her findings, the Chair concludes that the UK’s system of building preparedness for the pandemic suffered from several significant flaws. These include a flawed approach to risk assessment, a failure to fully learn from past civil emergency exercises and outbreaks of disease, and Ministers not receiving a broad enough range of scientific advice and failing to challenge the advice they did get.
Baroness Hallett acknowledged the pressure on politicians and others to make tough decisions about how resources should be used. However, she also stressed that, if the UK had been better prepared, the nation could have avoided some of the significant and long-lasting financial, economic and human costs of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In summary, her recommendations are:
- A radical simplification of the civil emergency preparedness and resilience systems. This includes rationalising and streamlining the current bureaucracy and providing better, simpler Ministerial and official structures and leadership;
- A new approach to risk assessment that provides for a better and more comprehensive evaluation of a wider range of actual risks;
- A new UK-wide approach to the development of strategy, which learns lessons from the past and from regular civil emergency exercises and takes proper account of existing inequalities and vulnerabilities;
- Better systems of data collection and sharing in advance of future pandemics, and the commissioning of a wider range of research projects;
- Holding a UK-wide pandemic response exercise at least every three years and publishing the outcome;
- Bringing in external expertise from outside government and the Civil Service to challenge and guard against the known problem of ‘groupthink’;
- Publication of regular reports on the system of civil emergency preparedness and resilience;
- Lastly and most importantly, the creation of a single, independent statutory body responsible for whole system preparedness and response. It will consult widely, for example with experts in the field of preparedness and resilience and the voluntary, community and social sector, and provide strategic advice to government and make recommendations.
To view the full report, visit: Module 1 Report - UK Covid-19 Inquiry (covid19.public-inquiry.uk)
