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Public Inquiry

UK COVID-19 Inquiry

Ongoing · Chair: Baroness Heather Hallett · Established June 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.

More about this inquiry

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 ↗ Government dashboard ↗

Where it stands

Public hearings have been held on 273 days, most recently on 5 March 2026.

The inquiry has published 15 reports, most recently Module 5: Procurement on 14 July 2026.

The most recent government response on the record is UK government response to the Covid-19 Inquiry Module 4 report, dated 16 October 2026.

11 of the 55 recommendations tracked here have no government response on the record yet.

Government response (55 recommendations)

Delivery (the addressees’ latest statements)

  • No statement from Department of Health and Social Care found in the sources searched 18
  • No statement from Cabinet Office found in the sources searched 11
  • Scottish Government says completed 5
  • No statement from Government Office for Science found in the sources searched 3
  • Scottish Government says in progress 3
  • Cabinet Office says in progress 2
  • Cabinet Office states no delivery position 2
  • No statement from UK Health Security Agency found in the sources searched 2
  • No statement from Department of Health NI found in the sources searched 1
  • Department of Health and Social Care states no delivery position 1
  • No statement from Health and Safety Executive found in the sources searched 1
  • No statement from Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency found in the sources searched 1
  • No statement from Northern Ireland Executive found in the sources searched 1
  • No statement from The Executive Office found in the sources searched 1
  • UK Government says in progress 1
  • UK Government says not accepted 1
  • UK Government states no delivery position 1

Record checked against the sources 16 October 2026. Latest activity 16 October 2026.

Latest on the recommendations

All 55 recommendations

Reports

Reports and timeline

Recent milestones

  • Module 5 report published14 July 2026
  • Module 4 report published16 April 2026
  • Module 3 report published19 March 2026
Full timeline

Costs

£219,777,000

Total reported cost to June 2026 Costs in detail

Parliament

279

mentions in Parliament Parliamentary activity

Recommendations

1 shown (filtered)
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COVID-M3.7: ICU Resource Allocation Framework

Under consideration · No statement from Department of Health and Social Care found

Recommended

The UK government and devolved administrations should publish a UK-wide framework setting out ethical and operational principles to guide the allocation of adult intensive care resources in the extreme event that they are saturated during a pandemic. That framework must: be informed by comprehensive engagement with the public and developed in conjunction with professionals across healthcare, law and ethics, as well as with regulators of healthcare professionals; set out clearly established triggers for its use, based at least in part on a UK-wide system that measures critical care capacity strain and facilitates mutual aid (such as the CRITCON tool used in England); establish clinicians' legal and professional duties in applying the framework, which should be clearly explained to clinicians through guidance; and be regularly reviewed with reference to contemporary patient data during a pandemic, and any future use of it must be evaluated and reported on publicly. A plan and timeline for completing this work should be published within six months of this Report. Application of the framework should be tested as part of the pandemic response exercises recommended in the Inquiry's Module 1 Report (Recommendation 6).

Since then (summary written by this site)

The Department of Health and Social Care stated in September 2026 that it will explore developing principles to guide adult intensive care allocation during pandemic saturation, but noted that formulating a plan and timeline will take longer than six months (Department of Health and Social Care and Cabinet Office response, Sep 2026). That month, the Scottish Government accepted the recommendation in principle and confirmed work with the other nations, while health advisers and ministers in Wales likewise committed to developing a UK-wide framework (Scottish Government response, Sep 2026; Welsh Government response, Sep 2026). The department stated it will provide an update in May 2027 through the inquiry implementation dashboard, and the record holds no update since the Welsh Government's response of September 2026 (Department of Health and Social Care and Cabinet Office response, Sep 2026; Welsh Government response, Sep 2026).

Addressed to Department of Health and Social Care · Full record

Reports and timeline

Reports

Module 1: Resilience and Preparedness 1 · 18 July 2024 · 10 recommendations · PDF
Module 2: Core Decision-Making 2 · 20 November 2025 · 19 recommendations · PDF Volumes: Module 2 Report Volume I (Feb 2026 amended issue) · PDF Module 2 Report Volume II · PDF
Module 3: Impact on Healthcare Systems 3 · 19 March 2026 · 10 recommendations · PDF Original edition: Version 1 — NO-COMMENTS original Report page first published 19 March 2026. Version 1.1 — current corrected edition (Corrslip-2) Correction slip dated 13 May 2026; page metadata modified 14 May 2026. The page modification is not a formal republication date. · Open current edition · Search this held text on InquiryTracker
Module 4: Vaccines and Therapeutics 4 · 16 April 2026 · 5 recommendations · PDF
Module 5: Procurement 5 · 14 July 2026 · 11 recommendations · PDF
Every Story Matters: Economic Response Listening Exercise · 24 November 2025 · PDF
Every Story Matters: Impact on Society - Key Workers Listening Exercise · 16 February 2026 · PDF
Every Story Matters: Test, Trace and Isolate Listening Exercise · 12 May 2025 · PDF
Every Story Matters: Impact on Society - Bereavement Listening Exercise · 3 March 2026 · PDF
Every Story Matters: Final Record Listening Exercise · 5 March 2026 · PDF
Every Story Matters: Impact on Society - Mental Health and Wellbeing Listening Exercise · 16 February 2026 · PDF
Every Story Matters: Adult Social Care Sector Listening Exercise · 30 June 2025 · PDF
Every Story Matters: Children and Young People Listening Exercise · 29 September 2025 · PDF
Every Story Matters: Healthcare Listening Exercise · 9 September 2024 · PDF
Every Story Matters: Vaccines and Therapeutics Listening Exercise · 14 January 2025 · PDF

Timeline

Inquiry announced

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a statutory public inquiry.

Source

Chair Appointed

Baroness Hallett appointed as Chair.

Terms of Reference published

Terms of Reference finalised after consultation.

Source

Preliminary Hearing

First preliminary hearing held.

Module 1 hearings open

Module 1 examining preparedness and resilience began.

Module 1 closing submissions concluded

Source

Module 2 Hearings

Module 2 examining core UK decision-making.

Module 2 Devolved Nations

Hearings examining Scottish, Welsh and NI decision-making.

Show all 19 milestones

Module 1 report published

First report on pandemic preparedness published.

Source

Module 3: Healthcare

Module 3 examining impact on healthcare systems began.

First Every Story Matters record published

The Inquiry published the first record of what it heard through Every Story Matters, on people's experiences of the UK's healthcare systems. The records gather contributors' accounts and are submitted as evidence; they carry no findings or recommendations of their own.

Source

Module 3 closing submissions concluded

Source

Every Story Matters closes

Every Story Matters closed to new contributions with over 58,000 stories and experiences shared.

Source

Module 2 report published

The Inquiry published its report on core UK decision-making and political governance (Modules 2, 2A, 2B and 2C).

Source

Further Modules Planned

Modules on vaccines, care sector, and other topics planned through 2026.

Hearings conclude

The Inquiry concluded its public hearings with Module 10, after 32 preliminary and 242 public hearing days involving 663 witnesses.

Source

Module 3 report published

The Inquiry published its report on the impact of the pandemic on healthcare systems in the four nations (Module 3).

Source

Module 4 report published

The Inquiry published its report on vaccines and therapeutics (Module 4).

Source

Module 5 report published

The Inquiry published its report on procurement (Module 5).

Source

Costs

Total reported cost: £219,777,000
Period Total Inquiry legal CP legal Source
Jun 2026 (cum.) £219,777,000 £69,701,000 £54,795,000

Financial Report to 30 June 2026 (Q1 FY26/27): cumulative expenditure

Source and qualifications

Accounting period: start not stated; to 30 Jun 2026.

Cumulative expenditure to 30 June 2026, from the inquiry's financial report for the first quarter of 2026/27. This is a later figure, not a correction of the £213.708m reported to March 2026. The report gives figures in £000, converted here to pounds; they exclude VAT where applicable and include estimates for work completed but not yet invoiced. They are audited as part of the Cabinet Office accounts, not as a separate final account for the inquiry. The report does not state the start date of the cumulative total; earlier reports include costs from 2021/22. Technology (£9.991m) is evidence management £9.281m, IT £0.316m and telecoms £0.394m. The report's operational and cross-cutting total of £30.514m is shown here as accommodation (£17.169m), support and safeguarding (£2.587m) and technology (£9.991m), with the remaining £0.767m under Other, so nothing is counted twice. Other also includes modules (£9.022m), Every Story Matters, the website and engagement (£15.689m, of which the website is £2.607m) and the report's own other costs (£4.502m). Government departments' own costs of responding to the inquiry, including legal and litigation costs, are not included.

Financial Report to 30 June 2026 (Q1 FY26/27): cumulative expenditure
Mar 2026 (cum.) £213,708,000 £67,344,000 £54,773,000

Financial Report to 31 March 2026 (Q4 2025-26)

Source and qualifications

Accounting period: 1 Apr 2022 to 31 Mar 2026.

Source-label correction recorded 9 October 2026: in the Q4 FY2025/26 report to 31 March 2026, £15.584m is Every Story Matters, engagement and commemoration, not the Support and safeguarding line. The Support and safeguarding cumulative amount is £2.491m. Other is £55.484m: Modules £8.930m + ESM/engagement £15.584m + Operational £29.528m minus Support/safeguarding £2.491m + source Other £3.933m. This disjoint allocation preserves the reported £213.708m March total. The earlier mapping of ESM as safeguarding is superseded. The prior claim “Most expensive UK inquiry ever” is not substantiated by the reviewed sources and is withdrawn as a current factual claim. The prior notes below are retained unchanged solely as a historical audit record; their retention does not validate any other statement.

Prior notes (unchanged):
Hearings concluded 5 March 2026 (end of Module 10). Figures exclude VAT. Most expensive UK inquiry ever. Chair £1.1m; Counsel & Solicitors £67.3m; Section 40 (CP legal) £54.8m; Secretariat £32.5m; Every Story Matters/engagement £15.6m; Modules £8.9m; Operational £29.5m; Other £3.9m.

Financial Report to 31 March 2026 (Q4 2025-26)
Sep 2025 £31,563,000 £10,892,000 £8,471,000

Financial Report FY25-26 H1 — sum of published Q1–Q2 resource expenditure

Source and qualifications

Accounting period: 1 Apr 2025 to 30 Sep 2025.

Financial Report FY25-26 H1 — sum of published Q1–Q2 resource expenditure
Mar 2025 £66,723,000 £18,704,000 £20,470,000

Financial Report FY24-25 (Q1-Q4)

Source and qualifications

Accounting period: 1 Apr 2024 to 31 Mar 2025.

Annual figures calculated from quarterly reports. Category structure changed over time - accommodation, technology, safeguarding only tracked separately in FY22-23, later absorbed into Operational/Other.

Financial Report FY24-25 (Q1-Q4)
Mar 2024 £70,352,000 £20,453,000 £19,335,000

Financial Report FY23-24 — sum of published Q1–Q4 resource expenditure

Source and qualifications

Accounting period: 1 Apr 2023 to 31 Mar 2024.

Financial Report FY23-24 — sum of published Q1–Q4 resource expenditure
Mar 2023 £22,440,000 £9,210,000 £3,129,000

Financial Report FY22-23 Annual — published resource expenditure

Source and qualifications

Accounting period: 1 Apr 2022 to 31 Mar 2023.

Financial Report FY22-23 Annual — published resource expenditure

Start not stated; to 30 Jun 2026 · Financial Report to 30 June 2026 (Q1 FY26/27): cumulative expenditure

Financial Report to 30 June 2026 (Q1 FY26/27): cumulative expenditure

Source and qualifications

Accounting period: start not stated; to 30 Jun 2026.

Cumulative expenditure to 30 June 2026, from the inquiry's financial report for the first quarter of 2026/27. This is a later figure, not a correction of the £213.708m reported to March 2026. The report gives figures in £000, converted here to pounds; they exclude VAT where applicable and include estimates for work completed but not yet invoiced. They are audited as part of the Cabinet Office accounts, not as a separate final account for the inquiry. The report does not state the start date of the cumulative total; earlier reports include costs from 2021/22. Technology (£9.991m) is evidence management £9.281m, IT £0.316m and telecoms £0.394m. The report's operational and cross-cutting total of £30.514m is shown here as accommodation (£17.169m), support and safeguarding (£2.587m) and technology (£9.991m), with the remaining £0.767m under Other, so nothing is counted twice. Other also includes modules (£9.022m), Every Story Matters, the website and engagement (£15.689m, of which the website is £2.607m) and the report's own other costs (£4.502m). Government departments' own costs of responding to the inquiry, including legal and litigation costs, are not included.

Financial Report to 30 June 2026 (Q1 FY26/27): cumulative expenditure

Detailed cost breakdown · to Jun 2026
Inquiry legal costs
£69,701,000
Core participant legal costs
£54,795,000
Panel remuneration
£1,158,000
Staff
£34,396,000
Accommodation
£17,169,000
Technology
£9,991,000
Safeguarding
£2,587,000
Other
£29,980,000

Parliamentary activity

279 mentions since Jul 2020
9 debates 124 questions 47 statements

UK Government response to Covid-19 Inquiry Module 4 Report

Written Ministerial Statement House of Commons Yvette Cooper · Labour

Statement: On Thursday 16 April 2026, the Covid-19 Inquiry published its fourth report, which focussed on the role of vaccines and therapeutics throughout the pandemic and put forward 5 recommendations for the Government to consider. Today, the Government published its response and set out the actions …

UK Government Response to Covid-19 Inquiry Module 3 Report

Written Ministerial Statement House of Lords Baroness Merron · Labour

Statement: My Right Honourable Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Yvette Cooper MP) has made the following statement:On Thursday 19 March 2026, the Covid-19 Inquiry published its third report, which focussed on the impact of the pandemic on the healthcare systems of …

UK Government Response to Covid-19 Inquiry Module 3 Report

Written Ministerial Statement House of Commons Yvette Cooper · Labour

Statement: On Thursday 19 March 2026, the Covid-19 Inquiry published its third report, which focussed on the impact of the pandemic on the healthcare systems of the UK and put forward ten recommendations for the Government to consider. Today, the Government is publishing its response to …

Health Services: Air Conditioning

Written Question House of Lords Baroness Linforth · Labour

Asked: To ask His Majesty's Government how much of the £1.5 billion Estates Safety Fund funding announced on 9 September will be allocated towards implementing the conclusion in the Module 3 report from the UK Covid-19 Inquiry that "in the short term, the use of HEPA …

Answered by Department of Health and Social Care: Estates Safety Fund schemes were selected by the National Health Service working with trusts and integrated care boards to prioritise the most urgent operational and safety risks, including ventilation requirements, and the schemes that will make the greatest difference to patients and staff. No data is held on the proportion of the funding that will be directed towards the use …

Public Sector: Procurement

Written Question House of Commons Helen Maguire · Liberal Democrat

Asked: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the safeguards recommended by the Covid Inquiry will be put in place to prevent political connections from being used to secure privileged access to public contracts.

Answered by Cabinet Office: The Government is fully committed to supporting the work of the Covid-19 Inquiry and to learning lessons from the Covid-19 pandemic to ensure the UK is better prepared for a future pandemic. The Inquiry published its report on Module 5 (Procurement) in July. The Government will consider its findings and recommendations in detail and respond in due course.

Cabinet Office: Calder Conferences

Written Question House of Commons Mike Wood · Conservative

Asked: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Answer of 24 September 2025 to Question 71230 on Cabinet Office: Calder Conferences, what the (a) title and (b) purpose were of the (i) The Old Ship Hotel, (ii) Westminster Chapel and (iii) …

Answered by Cabinet Office: The title and purposes of the specified events booked through Calder Conferences Limited are as follows: (i) The Old Ship Hotel on 29 May 2025: “Covid 19 Inquiry - Listening Event”. This was part of the Covid-19 Inquiry’s public listening initiatives which enabled bereaved individuals to share their personal experiences and impacts of the pandemic, to be used as evidence …

UK COVID-19 Inquiry response costs for Quarter 4 25/26

Written Ministerial Statement House of Commons Nick Thomas-Symonds · Labour

Statement: The UK COVID-19 Inquiry is examining the UK’s response to and impact of the pandemic. The government is fully committed to supporting the work of the COVID-19 Inquiry and to learning lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure the UK is better prepared for a …

UK COVID-19 Inquiry response costs for Quarter 4 25/26

Written Ministerial Statement House of Lords Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent · Labour

Statement: My Right Honourable friend, the Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office, the Rt Hon. Nick Thomas-Symonds MP, has today made the following statement:The UK COVID-19 Inquiry is examining the UK’s response to and impact of the pandemic. The government is fully committed to …

View all 279 mentions →

Key facts

Duration (ongoing): 4 years, 3 months Total reported cost: £219.8m