A UK-wide inquiry into Covid-19 will begin by investigating into how well-prepared the country was for a pandemic. Its chair Baroness Hallett also set out an ambitious timetable, with preliminary hearings starting this year, and the first witnesses to be called next spring.
The former High Court judge also confirmed that the inquiry will examine the response to the pandemic in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and said she will spend time in each nation hearing evidence from key organisations and individuals. The Welsh Government has refused to hold a Wales-specific inquiry into its handling of the pandemic.
Baroness Hallett said the inquiry would be split up into modules, with the first - opening today Thursday, July 21, - examining the resilience and preparedness of the UK for the coronavirus pandemic. The second module, which will be dealt with in parts, will look at core political and administrative governance and decision-making by each of the UK's governments. Module three will investigate the impact of Covid, and governmental and societal responses to it, on healthcare systems, including on patients, hospitals and other healthcare workers and staff.
