Source · Select Committees · Health and Social Care Committee
Recommendation 154
154
Not Addressed
There are several possible explanations for what was a significant error in policy and advice...
Conclusion
There are several possible explanations for what was a significant error in policy and advice early in the pandemic. These include: • the lack of adequate data on the spread of covid-19, as a result of the inadequacy of the UK testing operation; • overreliance on specific mathematical models when there were too many uncertainties; • assumptions about public compliance with rules that turned out to have underestimated the willingness to conform even for long periods; • the composition of SAGE suffered from a lack of representation from outside the United Kingdom; and • a preference for a particular UK approach may have been favoured above advice based on emulation of what was being pursued elsewhere.
Government response summary AI-generated
The government's response offers a general statement about scientific advice in early crises but does not address the committee's specific explanations for early policy errors.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government · verbatim extract
Not Addressed
In the early days of a crisis, scientific advice may be necessarily uncertain: data may be unavailable, knowledge limited and time may be required for analysis to be conducted. In these circumstances it may be appropriate to act quickly, on a precautionary basis, rather than wait for more scientific certainty.
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