About the Covid-19 Inquiry
The Inquiry’s chair, Baroness Heather Hallett, has been investigating a range of issues through the Inquiry’s ten modules.
It is established under the 2005 Inquiries act as a statutory public Inquiry with the power to compel witnesses, including current and former Prime Ministers, and for their evidence to be heard under oath.
Austerity played a huge role in undermining the resilience of our country to withstand the pandemic. You can read how in our Austerity and the pandemic report at Austerity and the pandemic.
What is the purpose of the Covid-19 Inquiry?
The inquiry will listen to the accounts of victims and their families, as well as seek to establish facts, find fault, and learn lessons.
The Inquiry is divided into a series of modules looking at different aspects of the Covid pandemic. Four modules include:
- Resilience and preparedness
- Core UK decision-making and political governance
- The impact of the pandemic on the healthcare system
- Vaccines and therapeutics
- Procurement
- Social Care
- Test, Trace and Isolate
- Impact on Children and Young People
- Economic Impact
- Impact on Society
How is the TUC involved?
The TUC is acting on behalf of its 48 member Unions and representing 5.5 million working people across the country at the Inquiry. The TUC is a Core Participant in modules 1, 2, 2a, 2b, 2c, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10. This makes the TUC the Core Participant involved in more modules than any other organisation.
Core Participants have the legal right to see evidence, put forward questions for witnesses and make opening and closing statements.
Since being a Core Participant the TUC, through its legal team of Thompson Solicitors and Sam Jacobs and Ruby Peacock of Doughty Street Chambers, have provided witness statements, questioned Boris Johnson, Rishi Sunak, Matt Hancock, Dominic Cummings and many more as to their role in the pandemic.
The TUC also helped expose the Governments decision making to refuse education workers the opportunity to wear a mask due to Gavin Williamson being in “no surrender” mode to the Trade Unions as we highlighted a WhatsApp chain between Dominic Cummings, Simon Case and Lee Caine.
How does the Inquiry work?
The Covid-19 Public Inquiry has now completed seven of it's 13 scheduled public hearings with Modules 1, 2. 2a, 2b, 2c, 3 and 4 completed.
Those modules have covered resilience and preparedness, Government decision making in Westminster and the devolved nations, healthcare and vaccines.
Future modules are 5 (procurement), 6 (Social care), 7 (Test, trace and isolate), 8 (Children and young people), 9 (Economic support) and 10 (Impact on Society)
The TUC has had Core Participant status for Modules 1, 2, 2a, 2b, 2c, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 - at 11 our of 13 Modules we are the Core Participant across more Modules than anyone else including state departments.
Inquiries themselves perform three main functions:
- Establish the facts
- Identify accountability for how the facts occurred
- Recommend changes to ensure better performance the next time
Most Inquiries are deep dive investigations into a high incident issue that occurred over a short time span but impacted a community deeply - such as Grenfell, Manchester Bombing, etc. This means often that Core Participants (Those will a legal right to see all evidence and make numerous contributions into the Inquiry) will be individuals.
The scale of the pandemic and interventions associated with it, particularly lockdown, means that every single person in the United Kingdom was deeply impacted over a significant time frame.
The Inquiry has therefore appointed organisations and coalitions that represent sectors and communities impacted. The TUC, for example, is very much viewed as the voice of workers in the Inquiry.
For each module we have been involved in we receive what is known as a Rule 9 request, which requires us to produce a witness statement on the areas we are questioned on. These statements are made up of evidence from the TUC, our affiliates and the lived experience of working people across the country.
In addition the TUC makes written and oral opening and closing statements during the public hearings of modules it is involved in, as well as getting the opportunity to submit “rule 10” applications to question witnesses and then ask questions directly, directly holding decision makers such as Boris Johnson, Rishi Sunak and Matt Hancock to account on behalf of working people.
