Covid Inquiry finds failure by government to engage with those who “know their communities best” such as councils

Significant flaws in the UK’s preparation for the pandemic resulted in the government and civil services “failing their citizens”, the first report of the Covid inquiry has found.

The Module 1 report, published today (18 July), criticised the government for its “failure to engage appropriately with those who know their communities best”, such as local authorities, the voluntary sector and community groups.

It said the UK planned for the “wrong pandemic” – noting that although the significant risk of an influenza pandemic had long been considered and planned for, that preparedness was “inadequate” for a global pandemic of the kind that struck.

The report observed that prior to the pandemic in 2020, there had been a “slowdown” in health improvement, and health inequalities had widened.

“Public services, particularly health and social care, were running close to, if not beyond, capacity in normal times”, it noted.

Inquiry chair Baroness Hallett observed the “extraordinary levels of strain” on the UK’s health, care, financial and educational systems as a result of the pandemic, adding that “societal damage has been widespread, with existing inequalities exacerbated and access to opportunity significantly weakened.”

Further, the report highlighted a “damaging absence of focus” on the measures and infrastructure required in the event of a pandemic – in particular, a system that could be scaled up to test, trace and isolate.

The inquiry made a series of recommendations, including:

• Three-yearly pandemic response exercises held by the UK government and devolved administrations.
• Each government to create a single Cabinet-level or equivalent ministerial committee (including the senior minister responsible for health and social care) responsible for whole-system civil emergency preparedness and resilience.
• A new UK-wide whole-system civil emergency strategy to be put in place.
• A new independent body to advise on civil emergencies and assess the state of preparation and resilience – which should consult with the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector at a national and local level, as well as with directors of public health, and make recommendations.

Responding to the publication of the report, Cllr Louise Gittins, Chair of the Local Government Association (LGA), said: “This is a hugely important report by Baroness Hallett and, on behalf of local government, we thank her for her work to help the nation reflect on and understand what happened. At the heart of the UK COVID-19 Inquiry are the bereaved families and survivors, and it is important that we now look carefully at the findings and recommendations and learn lessons for the future. 

“Local government in England and Wales responded quickly to the pandemic to help protect and support their residents in unprecedented circumstances, using the expertise, capability and innovation of the sector at a time of national crisis. However, as we made clear to the Inquiry in our evidence and statements, too often central government hasn’t understood the role of local government, what it does and what it is capable of doing. This has meant that local knowledge and expertise was at times overlooked.”

She continued: “It is good to see that the Inquiry's report recognises the important role local government and directors of public health have to play in the response to any pandemic and as part of a whole system civil emergency response going forward.

“As we said in our closing statement to the Inquiry, the LGA and the WLGA stand ready to work collaboratively with councils and the Government to play our part in future preparedness. It is vital that local government is at the heart of developing the response to the Inquiry’s 10 recommendations.”

Lottie Winson