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Public Inquiry

UK COVID-19 Inquiry

Status: Ongoing Chair: Baroness Heather Hallett Established: Apr 2022 Commissioned by: Cabinet Office

Public inquiry examining the UK's response to and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and learning lessons for the future. The inquiry is examining preparedness, decision-making, health and social care, vaccines, and the impact on different communities.

Inquiry Website Terms of Reference Parliament Costs ‹ Previous Next ›

Response breakdown

55 recommendations total
35%
9%
47%
19 (35%) — Accepted
5 (9%) — Accepted in Part
3 (5%) — Under Review
26 (47%) — Awaiting Response
2 (4%) — Not Applicable

Data last updated: 16 Jul 2026 · Data verified: 14 Jul 2026 (Claude)

Key facts

Duration (ongoing): 4 years, 3 months Total cost: £213.7m

Reports & milestones

Reports

18 Jul 2024 10 tracked recs Module 1: Resilience and Preparedness · Tracked recommendations · PDF
20 Nov 2025 19 tracked recs Module 2: Core Decision-Making · Tracked recommendations · PDF
19 Mar 2026 10 tracked recs Module 3: Impact on Healthcare Systems · Tracked recommendations · PDF
16 Apr 2026 5 tracked recs Module 4: Vaccines and Therapeutics · Tracked recommendations · PDF
14 Jul 2026 11 tracked recs Module 5: Procurement · Tracked recommendations · PDF
30 Nov 2023 0 tracked recs Every Story Matters · PDF

Timeline

12 May 2021 Inquiry announced Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a statutory public inquiry. · Source
15 Dec 2021 Chair Appointed Baroness Hallett appointed as Chair.
28 Jun 2022 Terms of Referenc… Terms of Reference finalised after consultation. · Source
04 Oct 2022 Preliminary Heari… First preliminary hearing held.
13 Jun 2023 Module 1 hearings… Module 1 examining preparedness and resilience began.
03 Oct 2023 Module 2 Hearings Module 2 examining core UK decision-making.
15 Jan 2024 Module 2 Devolved… Hearings examining Scottish, Welsh and NI decision-making.
18 Jul 2024 Module 1 report p… First report on pandemic preparedness published. · Source
Show all 15 milestones
09 Sep 2024 Module 3: Healthc… Module 3 examining impact on healthcare systems began.
20 Nov 2025 Module 2 report p… The Inquiry published its report on core UK decision-making and political governance (Modules 2, 2A, 2B and 2C). · Source
31 Dec 2025 Further Modules P… Modules on vaccines, care sector, and other topics planned through 2026.
05 Mar 2026 Hearings conclude The Inquiry concluded its public hearings with Module 10, after 32 preliminary and 242 public hearing days involving … · Source
19 Mar 2026 Module 3 report p… The Inquiry published its report on the impact of the pandemic on healthcare systems in the four nations … · Source
16 Apr 2026 Module 4 report p… The Inquiry published its report on vaccines and therapeutics (Module 4). · Source
14 Jul 2026 Module 5 report p… The Inquiry published its report on procurement (Module 5). · Source

Recommendations

10 shown (filtered)
Clear
Code Recommendation Addressed to Response
COVID-M1.1
The governments of the UK, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland should each simplify and reduce the number of structures with responsibility for …
 Cabinet Office Accepted View →
COVID-M1.2
The UK government should: abolish the lead government department model for whole-system civil emergency preparedness and resilience; and require the Cabinet Office …
 Cabinet Office Accepted in Part View →
COVID-M1.3
The UK government and devolved administrations should work together on developing a new approach to risk assessment that moves away from a …
 Cabinet Office Accepted View →
COVID-M1.4
The UK government and devolved administrations should together introduce a UK-wide whole-system civil emergency strategy (which includes pandemics) to prevent each emergency …
 Cabinet Office Accepted in Part View →
COVID-M1.5
The UK government, working with the devolved administrations, should establish mechanisms for the timely collection, analysis, secure sharing and use of reliable …
 Cabinet Office Accepted View →
COVID-M1.6
The UK government and devolved administrations should together hold a UK-wide pandemic response exercise at least every three years. The exercise should: …
 Cabinet Office Accepted View →
COVID-M1.7
For all civil emergency exercises, the governments of the UK, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland should each (unless there are reasons of …
 Cabinet Office Accepted View →
COVID-M1.8
The governments of the UK, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland should each produce and publish reports to their respective legislatures at least …
 Cabinet Office Accepted in Part View →
COVID-M1.9
The governments of the UK, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland should each introduce the use of red teams in the Civil Service …
 Cabinet Office Accepted View →
COVID-M1.10
The UK government should, in consultation with the devolved administrations, create a statutory independent body for whole-system civil emergency preparedness and resilience. …
 Cabinet Office Under Consideration View →

Parliamentary activity

242 mentions since Jul 2020
9 debates 98 questions 36 statements
03 Jun 2026 Written Question Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme
Sir Christopher Chope (Conservative)
01 Jun 2026 Written Question Covid-19 Inquiry
Jess Asato (Labour)
20 May 2026 Written Ministerial Statement UK COVID-19 Inquiry response costs for Quarter 3 25/26
Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Labour)
20 May 2026 Written Ministerial Statement UK COVID-19 Inquiry response costs for Quarter 3 25/26
Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour)
19 May 2026 Written Question Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme
Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat)
View all 242 mentions →

Costs

Total: £213,708,000
Period Total Inquiry legal CP legal Source
Mar 2026 (cum.) £213,708,000 £67,344,000 £54,773,000 link
Sep 2025 £19,012,000 £10,892,000 £8,471,000 link
Mar 2025 £66,723,000 £18,704,000 £20,470,000 link
Mar 2024 £80,889,000 £20,453,000 £19,335,000 link
Mar 2023 £25,625,000 £9,210,000 £3,129,000 link