Accessible Emergency Communications
COVID-19 Inquiry · Module 2: Core Decision-Making · Issued 20 November 2025 · Addressed to: Cabinet Office
Source — verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation
The UK government and the devolved administrations should each develop action plans for how government communications will be made more accessible during a pandemic. As a minimum, these should include making provision for the translation of government press conferences into British Sign Language (and Irish Sign Language in Northern Ireland) and the translation of key announcements into the most frequently spoken languages in the UK.
COVID-19 Inquiry, Module 2: Core Decision-Making · 20 Nov 2025 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
Publicly available evidence relating to this recommendation:
- The GCS Crisis Communications Operating Model was updated in 2023 (Crisis Communications Operating Model, Government Communication Service, 2023).
- New crisis communication planning guidance was issued to departments in 2024 (Crisis Comms Planning Guide, Government Communication Service, 2024).
- A BSL interpretation protocol has been established in accordance with the BSL Act 2022.
- A central New Media Unit was launched in the Cabinet Office.
- Communication teams participated in Exercise Pegasus (September-October 2025).
- No independent assessment of the accessibility or effectiveness of these measures has been published.
Response — verbatim from government
●Scottish Government — initial response
No formal response published by this government.
Scottish Government · 20 Nov 2025
●Welsh Government — follow-up
No formal response published by this government.
Welsh Government · 20 Nov 2025
●Northern Ireland Executive — follow-up
No formal response published by this government.
Northern Ireland Executive · 20 Nov 2025
●UK Government — follow-up
The government agrees that a core function of government communications is to describe and explain policy to the general public in a way that is clear, accurate, and accessible.
Using the learning from the pandemic, the government has already implemented a number of measures to improve the readiness of government communication to deliver advice to the public during major emergencies.
The Government Communication Service (GCS) Crisis Communications Operating Model was updated in 2023, creating more clarity on roles and responsibilities for departments and communication leaders before, during, and in the aftermath of a crisis. Building on this, the government issued new advice in 2024 to help departments create robust crisis communication plans for their specific risks.
In accordance with the BSL Act 2022, the government has established a protocol ensuring BSL interpretation is available for public health or emergency announcements. This builds on the existing translation capabilities of the Cabinet Office, No10, and DHSC including for alternative formats, such as Easy Read and BSL.
The government has launched a central New Media Unit (NMU) within the Cabinet Office, to improve its capacity to communicate information directly to audiences during a crisis. GCS has also maintained its commitment to informing communications with behavioural science by embedding a team at the centre who advise on crisis communications and behaviour change campaigns.
In addition to regular readiness reviews, communication teams across departments participated in Exercise Pegasus (across September and October 2025). As the largest-ever national pandemic response exercise, it tested our ability to manage a complex, emerging pandemic. The lessons from this exercise are currently being incorporated into planning for future risks.
The UK government is also working closely with devolved governments to improve coordination at every stage of the crisis response.
We are confident that the changes outlined above represent a significant strengthening of government communications capability and readiness.
UK Government · 20 Nov 2025 Written response →
●UK Government — follow-up
The government agrees that a core function of government communications is to describe and explain policy to the general public in a way that is clear, accurate, and accessible.
Using the learning from the pandemic, the government has already implemented a number of measures to improve the readiness of government communication to deliver advice to the public during major emergencies.
The Government Communication Service (GCS) Crisis Communications Operating Model was updated in 2023, creating more clarity on roles and responsibilities for departments and communication leaders before, during, and in the aftermath of a crisis. Building on this, the government issued new advice in 2024 to help departments create robust crisis communication plans for their specific risks.
In accordance with the BSL Act 2022, the government has established a protocol ensuring BSL interpretation is available for public health or emergency announcements. This builds on the existing translation capabilities of the Cabinet Office, No10, and DHSC including for alternative formats, such as Easy Read and BSL.
The government has launched a central New Media Unit (NMU) within the Cabinet Office, to improve its capacity to communicate information directly to audiences during a crisis. GCS has also maintained its commitment to informing communications with behavioural science by embedding a team at the centre who advise on crisis communications and behaviour change campaigns.
In addition to regular readiness reviews, communication teams across departments participated in Exercise Pegasus (across September and October 2025). As the largest-ever national pandemic response exercise, it tested our ability to manage a complex, emerging pandemic. The lessons from this exercise are currently being incorporated into planning for future risks.
The UK government is also working closely with devolved governments to improve coordination at every stage of the crisis response.
We are confident that the changes outlined above represent a significant strengthening of government communications capability and readiness.
UK Government · 25 Mar 2026 Written response →
Evidence trail — what's actually happened since
- 20 Nov 2025 Status: Pending. No government response yet received. Module 2 report published 20 November 2025. Source →
Each entry above links to a primary source — gov.uk written statement, consultation response document, or inspection report. The Index does not characterise government intent; it tracks what has been published.
How this page is built
Source and Response are verbatim from primary documents. The Evidence trail records published activity since — written statements, consultation outcomes, inspection findings, parliamentary references. The Index does not paraphrase or characterise intent; it tracks what has been published. Where the evidence is the absence of action (a missed deadline, a slipped timetable), that absence is documented from primary sources rather than inferred.
This recommendation's data is verified periodically against primary sources. The Index is monitored for staleness weekly.