UK COVID-19 Inquiry
COVID-19 Inquiry
Public inquiry examining the UK's response to and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and learning lessons for the future.
Read the full description
Public inquiry examining the UK's response to and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and learning lessons for the future. The inquiry is examining preparedness, decision-making, health and social care, vaccines, and the impact on different communities.
Where it stands
Public hearings have been held on 273 days, most recently on 5 March 2026. The inquiry has published 16 reports, most recently Module 6: Care Sector on 20 October 2026. The most recent response on the record is from Scottish Government, dated 20 October 2026. 19 of the 63 recommendations tracked here have no government response on the record yet.
Reports & recommendations
All 63 recommendations →Government response
Latest statement by addressee
"No statement found" means none was found in the sources searched, last checked 20 October 2026. Each figure is the latest statement from the body the recommendation is addressed to. Other bodies’ findings are shown on each recommendation and do not change these figures.
How to read this
Government Response tracks what the government said it would do (accepted, rejected, etc.).
Awaiting a government response 19
- Pandemic Stockpile Composition and Inspection COVID-M5.1
- Pandemic Exercises to Include Emergency Procurement COVID-M5.2
- Emergency Procurement and Distribution Systems COVID-M5.3
Not accepted 2
- Statutory Child Rights Impact Assessments COVID-M2.7
- Standardised Advance Care Planning COVID-M3.9
Dates not yet listed
Latest evidence
All 16505 documents →Costs
Financial Report to 30 June 2026 (Q1 FY26/27): cumulative expenditure
Source and qualifications
Accounting period: start not stated; to 30 Jun 2026.
Financial Report to 30 June 2026 (Q1 FY26/27): cumulative expenditure
Breakdown and notes
Cost breakdown (to Jun 2026)
Cost history (6 reports)
| Period | Total | Inquiry Legal | CP Legal | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 2026 (cum.) | £219,777,000 | £69,701,000 | £54,795,000 |
Financial Report to 30 June 2026 (Q1 FY26/27): cumulative expenditure Source and qualificationsAccounting period: start not stated; to 30 Jun 2026. Cumulative expenditure to 30 June 2026, from the inquiry's financial report for the first quarter of 2026/27. This is a later figure, not a correction of the £213.708m reported to March 2026. The report gives figures in £000, converted here to pounds; they exclude VAT where applicable and include estimates for work completed but not yet invoiced. They are audited as part of the Cabinet Office accounts, not as a separate final account for the inquiry. The report does not state the start date of the cumulative total; earlier reports include costs from 2021/22. Technology (£9.991m) is evidence management £9.281m, IT £0.316m and telecoms £0.394m. The report's operational and cross-cutting total of £30.514m is shown here as accommodation (£17.169m), support and safeguarding (£2.587m) and technology (£9.991m), with the remaining £0.767m under Other, so nothing is counted twice. Other also includes modules (£9.022m), Every Story Matters, the website and engagement (£15.689m, of which the website is £2.607m) and the report's own other costs (£4.502m). Government departments' own costs of responding to the inquiry, including legal and litigation costs, are not included.
Financial Report to 30 June 2026 (Q1 FY26/27): cumulative expenditure |
| Mar 2026 (cum.) | £213,708,000 | £67,344,000 | £54,773,000 |
Financial Report to 31 March 2026 (Q4 2025-26) Source and qualificationsAccounting period: 1 Apr 2022 to 31 Mar 2026. Source-label correction recorded 9 October 2026: in the Q4 FY2025/26 report to 31 March 2026, £15.584m is Every Story Matters, engagement and commemoration, not the Support and safeguarding line. The Support and safeguarding cumulative amount is £2.491m. Other is £55.484m: Modules £8.930m + ESM/engagement £15.584m + Operational £29.528m minus Support/safeguarding £2.491m + source Other £3.933m. This disjoint allocation preserves the reported £213.708m March total. The earlier mapping of ESM as safeguarding is superseded. The prior claim “Most expensive UK inquiry ever” is not substantiated by the reviewed sources and is withdrawn as a current factual claim. The prior notes below are retained unchanged solely as a historical audit record; their retention does not validate any other statement.
Prior notes (unchanged): Hearings concluded 5 March 2026 (end of Module 10). Figures exclude VAT. Most expensive UK inquiry ever. Chair £1.1m; Counsel & Solicitors £67.3m; Section 40 (CP legal) £54.8m; Secretariat £32.5m; Every Story Matters/engagement £15.6m; Modules £8.9m; Operational £29.5m; Other £3.9m. |
| Sep 2025 | £31,563,000 | £10,892,000 | £8,471,000 |
Financial Report FY25-26 H1 — sum of published Q1–Q2 resource expenditure Source and qualificationsAccounting period: 1 Apr 2025 to 30 Sep 2025. Financial Report FY25-26 H1 — sum of published Q1–Q2 resource expenditure |
| Mar 2025 | £66,723,000 | £18,704,000 | £20,470,000 |
Financial Report FY24-25 (Q1-Q4) Source and qualificationsAccounting period: 1 Apr 2024 to 31 Mar 2025. Annual figures calculated from quarterly reports. Category structure changed over time - accommodation, technology, safeguarding only tracked separately in FY22-23, later absorbed into Operational/Other.
|
| Mar 2024 | £70,352,000 | £20,453,000 | £19,335,000 |
Financial Report FY23-24 — sum of published Q1–Q4 resource expenditure Source and qualificationsAccounting period: 1 Apr 2023 to 31 Mar 2024. Financial Report FY23-24 — sum of published Q1–Q4 resource expenditure |
| Mar 2023 | £22,440,000 | £9,210,000 | £3,129,000 |
Financial Report FY22-23 Annual — published resource expenditure Source and qualificationsAccounting period: 1 Apr 2022 to 31 Mar 2023. Financial Report FY22-23 Annual — published resource expenditure |