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UK COVID-19 Inquiry

Ongoing

COVID-19 Inquiry

Chair Baroness Heather Hallett Judge / Judiciary
Established 28 Apr 2022
Commissioned by Cabinet Office Commissioned by the Prime Minister

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.

Live tracking hearings, witnesses and documents synced daily from the inquiry website Open live tracker Search evidence
4 years, 4 months Duration (ongoing)
£213.7m Total Cost
Inquiry Website Official Statement Terms of Reference
Government Response
Accepted 19
Accepted in Part 5
Under Review 3
Awaiting Response 26
Not Applicable 2
Total Recommendations 55
Data last updated: 16 Jul 2026
Data verified: 7 Sep 2026 (Claude)
How to read this

Government Response tracks what the government said it would do (accepted, rejected, etc.).

Full methodology

9 debates 98 questions 36 statements since Jul 2020
Written Question Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme
Sir Christopher Chope (Conservative)
03 Jun 2026
Written Question Covid-19 Inquiry
Jess Asato (Labour)
01 Jun 2026
Written Ministerial Statement UK COVID-19 Inquiry response costs for Quarter 3 25/26
Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Labour)
20 May 2026
Written Ministerial Statement UK COVID-19 Inquiry response costs for Quarter 3 25/26
Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour)
20 May 2026
Written Question Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme
Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat)
19 May 2026
View all 242 mentions →
All Activity (242)
12 May 2021
Inquiry announced

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a statutory public inquiry.

Source
15 Dec 2021
Chair Appointed

Baroness Hallett appointed as Chair.

28 Jun 2022
Terms of Reference published

Terms of Reference finalised after consultation.

Source
04 Oct 2022
Preliminary Hearing

First preliminary hearing held.

13 Jun 2023
Module 1 hearings open

Module 1 examining preparedness and resilience began.

03 Oct 2023
Module 2 Hearings

Module 2 examining core UK decision-making.

15 Jan 2024
Module 2 Devolved Nations

Hearings examining Scottish, Welsh and NI decision-making.

18 Jul 2024
Module 1 report published

First report on pandemic preparedness published.

Source
09 Sep 2024
Module 3: Healthcare

Module 3 examining impact on healthcare systems began.

09 Sep 2024
First Every Story Matters record published

The Inquiry published the first record of what it heard through Every Story Matters, on people's experiences of the UK's healthcare systems. The records gather contributors' accounts and are submitted as evidence; they carry no findings or recommendations of their own.

Source
23 May 2025
Every Story Matters closes

Every Story Matters closed to new contributions with over 58,000 stories and experiences shared.

Source
20 Nov 2025
Module 2 report published

The Inquiry published its report on core UK decision-making and political governance (Modules 2, 2A, 2B and 2C).

Source
31 Dec 2025
Further Modules Planned

Modules on vaccines, care sector, and other topics planned through 2026.

05 Mar 2026
Hearings conclude

The Inquiry concluded its public hearings with Module 10, after 32 preliminary and 242 public hearing days involving 663 witnesses.

Source
19 Mar 2026
Module 3 report published

The Inquiry published its report on the impact of the pandemic on healthcare systems in the four nations (Module 3).

Source
16 Apr 2026
Module 4 report published

The Inquiry published its report on vaccines and therapeutics (Module 4).

Source
14 Jul 2026
Module 5 report published

The Inquiry published its report on procurement (Module 5).

Source
Total Inquiry Cost (Cumulative) £213,708,000
to Mar 2026 Financial Report to 31 March 2026 (Q4 2025-26)
Cost Breakdown (to Mar 2026)
Inquiry Legal Costs £67,344,000 Panel remuneration & Counsel to the Inquiry
Core Participant Legal Costs £54,773,000 Legal funding for core participants
Panel £1,081,000
Staff £32,535,000
Safeguarding £15,584,000
Other £42,391,000
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.
Cost History
Period Total Inquiry Legal CP Legal Source
Mar 2026 (cum.) £213,708,000 £67,344,000 £54,773,000
Sep 2025 £19,012,000 £10,892,000 £8,471,000
Mar 2025 £66,723,000 £18,704,000 £20,470,000
Mar 2024 £80,889,000 £20,453,000 £19,335,000
Mar 2023 £25,625,000 £9,210,000 £3,129,000
Clear

Recommendations (2)

COVID-M2.1
Not Applicable
NI CMO Independence
Recommendation
The Department of Health (Northern Ireland) should reconstitute the role of the Chief Medical Officer for Northern Ireland as an independent advisory role. The Chief Medical Officer for Northern Ireland should not have managerial responsibilities within the Department of Health … Read more
Published evidence summary
- This recommendation is addressed to the Department of Health (Northern Ireland), not the UK government.
- The UK government stated in its Module 2 response (25 March 2026) that this recommendation is not for it to respond to (UK Government Response to the Covid-19 Inquiry Module 2 Report, CP 1534, 25 March 2026).
- No published response from the Northern Ireland Department of Health has been identified.
Department of Health NI (Primary) Northern Ireland Executive (Primary)
View Details
COVID-M2.13
Not Applicable
NI Executive Confidentiality Duty
Recommendation

The Executive Office should amend the Ministerial Code to impose a duty of confidentiality on ministers that prohibits the disclosure of the individual views of ministers expressed during meetings of the Northern Ireland Executive Committee.

Published evidence summary
- This recommendation is addressed to the Northern Ireland Executive Office, not the UK government.
- The UK government stated in its Module 2 response (25 March 2026) that this recommendation is not for it to respond to (UK Government Response to the Covid-19 Inquiry Module 2 Report, CP 1534, 25 March 2026).
- No published response from the Northern Ireland Executive Office has been identified.
The Executive Office (Primary)
View Details