Covid-19 Inquiry Module 2: Government Response

Wednesday 25th March 2026 Written Statements

[The Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister (Darren Jones)]

On 20 November 2025, the covid-19 inquiry published its second report, which examined core decision-making and political governance across the UK and put forward 19 recommendations for the Government to consider. Today, the Government published their response and set out the actions we are taking to address them.

The covid-19 pandemic was a traumatic chapter in our country’s history. Families lost loved ones, businesses suffered or were forced to close, and many across the country were left with life-long health impacts. The Government debt built up to cover the economic impact of the crisis is still being paid back today; the impact on NHS waiting lists remains a long-term challenge.

The Government welcome the inquiry’s module 2 report and I want to express my gratitude to Baroness Hallett and her team for their rigorous examination of the issues it raises.

It is a sobering read. Responding to the pandemic was a highly significant logistical challenge to our system of government, and indeed to Governments all around the world. However the module 2 report nevertheless exposes several failures of the Government at the time: a failure to respond quickly enough; to treat the impact on vulnerable people and children seriously enough; to provide clear, unequivocal public health messaging; and to turn scientific advice into coherent policy in a transparent, methodical way. There are many lessons to learn from the mistakes, failures—and successes—where they were made.

This Government have already made significant changes to their crisis response structures in response to the covid-19 inquiry module 1 report. Without effective governance, we cannot expect to respond to crises effectively. The Prime Minister, Cabinet and civil service must be structured, willing and able to make fast, evidence-based and compassionate decisions that will save lives and livelihoods, informed by the scientific evidence. In July 2025, we also published our resilience action plan which explains this Government’s strategic approach to increasing the UK’s resilience. Our response to the module 2 report today builds on that.

We have already updated the UK Government’s crisis management doctrine, known as the Amber Book, which sets out the decision-making framework for responding to a crisis. This includes establishing the principles for a successful taskforce structure, to oversee the response to protracted whole-of-system crises, and has informed the development of internal risk-specific operational plans for catastrophic risks like pandemics.

The report also notes that clear and inclusive communication is integral to a successful Government response to an emergency. The Government Communication Service crisis communications operating model has been updated to clarify communications roles and responsibilities before, during, and in the aftermath of a crisis. We have issued new advice to help Departments create robust communication plans for their specific risks, and our STOP model for crisis planning now mandates that all communications consider people with additional needs. This ensures that our messaging is accessible and inclusive by default, in line with the Equality Act 2010, the public sector equality duty, and the British Sign Language Act 2022.

As recommended by the module 2 report, we are also working towards commencing the socioeconomic duty under section 1 of the Equality Act 2010 in England. Additionally, in 2025, we published updated guidance for identifying and supporting vulnerable people during an emergency.

We have also worked closely with our counterparts in the devolved Governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to draft our response to this report. Our shared aim is to ensure that intergovernmental machinery is configured to enable better co-ordination between Governments while respecting the importance of local accountability. The devolved Governments should be invited to COBR and taskforce meetings during an emergency where relevant. Furthermore, guidance has been updated to ensure the three chief scientific advisers from the devolved Governments are invited to Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies meetings from the very outset of an emergency.

As the Government implement our response to the module 2 report, our progress will be recorded and tracked transparently using our covid-19 inquiry dashboard. These may seem like technical changes, but in an increasingly disruptive global context, having processes in place to make the right marginal call in moments of volatility can have profound and long-lasting impacts.

Many will naturally want to put the difficulty of covid-19 behind us, but given the long-lasting impact on the British economy and public services, it is right for Government to take these lessons seriously. And we owe it to those who died, suffered and struggled during the pandemic too. I am grateful to Baroness Hallett and her team for their rigorous examination of what went wrong, on the basis of which we are acting, to make sure this and future Governments can do better next time.

[HCWS1456]