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.
The UK government should introduce legislation to place child rights impact assessments on a statutory footing in England. The Northern Ireland Executive should consider an equivalent provision.
Since then (summary written by this site)
The Inquiry recommended statutory child rights impact assessments for England and Northern Ireland. In June 2026, Josh MacAlister, answering for the Department for Education, stated that the government does not intend to introduce legislation to make Child’s Rights Impact Assessments (CRIAs) a statutory requirement at this time (Josh MacAlister, Jun 2026). In March 2026, the UK Government (Cabinet Office) stated that it would consider Module 8 report findings the following year while working to incorporate children's interests into risk planning (Cabinet Office response, Mar 2026). Earlier in March 2026, the Northern Ireland Executive stated that it did not propose to legislate for CRIAs at that time, though it could review this position following Module 8 (Northern Ireland Executive response, Mar 2026).
The UK government, Scottish Government, Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Executive, working with trusts and health boards, should establish and promote one standardised process across the UK (such as ReSPECT, the Recommended Summary Plan for Emergency Care and Treatment) for clinicians to ascertain and record their patients' wishes and preferences for future care and treatment in order to inform individualised decision-making, including Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (DNACPR) notices.
Since then (summary written by this site)
In September 2026, the UK government (Department of Health and Social Care) stated that it does not specifically intend to introduce a standard process across the UK and the devolved governments at this time (Department of Health and Social Care and Cabinet Office response, Sep 2026). In September 2026, the Scottish Government accepted the recommendation in principle, stating that while it does not support a mandatory UK-wide process, work is underway to develop a business case for a standardised digital future care plan in Scotland (Scottish Government response, Sep 2026). The Welsh Government also stated in September 2026 that it does not support a single UK-wide process, confirming that it will instead review and strengthen its existing Advance and Future Care Planning Framework (Welsh Government response, Sep 2026).
Addressed to Department of Health and Social Care · Full record
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
Written Ministerial StatementHouse of CommonsYvette 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 …
Written Ministerial StatementHouse of LordsBaroness 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 …
Written Ministerial StatementHouse of CommonsYvette 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 …
Written QuestionHouse of LordsBaroness 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 …
Written QuestionHouse of CommonsHelen 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.
Written QuestionHouse of CommonsMike 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 …
Written Ministerial StatementHouse of CommonsNick 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 …
Written Ministerial StatementHouse of LordsBaroness 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 …