To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to consult people who shielded during the covid-19 pandemic on the preparation of pandemic preparedness plans.
Department of Health and Social Care
We cannot perfectly predict the characteristics of a future pandemic or know precisely which groups will be most affected by it, and we are therefore strengthening our pandemic preparedness by considering the flexible and scalable response capabilities th...
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To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will have discussions with the UK Health Security Agency on the adequacy of NHS preparedness for rapidly producing a shielded patient list in the event of a pandemic.
Department of Health and Social Care
We cannot perfectly predict the characteristics of a future pandemic or know precisely which groups will be most affected by it, and we are therefore strengthening our pandemic preparedness by considering the flexible and scalable response capabilities th...
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To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies on future pandemic preparedness planning of the report entitled Covid Shielding Voices published by the Centre for Epid
Department of Health and Social Care
We cannot perfectly predict the characteristics of a future pandemic or know precisely which groups will be most affected by it, and we are therefore strengthening our pandemic preparedness by considering the flexible and scalable response capabilities th...
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To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much his Department spent on the case of Cabinet Office v Chair of Covid Inquiry, [2023] EWHC 1702 (Admin).
Cabinet Office
This judicial review was brought to seek clarification on a point of law and we were pleased that the Court agreed that there was an important legal question to consider. It acknowledged our concerns over respecting the privacy of individuals and ensuring...
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To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department's publication entitled UK Covid-19 Inquiry Management Statement, published in August 2022, what steps he is taking to ensure the Covid-19 public inquiry represents overall value
Cabinet Office
The UK Covid-19 Inquiry is an independent public inquiry.In line with the UK Covid-19 Management Statement, the Inquiry’s Accounting Officer must conform to value for money and good financial management requirements and must provide financial updates to t...
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To ask His Majesty's Government how the needs of the Clinically Extremely Vulnerable, as distinct from the disabled, will be addressed in the UK COVID-19 Inquiry.
Cabinet Office
The UK COVID-19 Inquiry is independent of the Government. The process, procedure and timing of the Inquiry are matters for the Chair, Baroness Hallett. On 16th January 2023 the Chair designated the group Clinically Vulnerable Families as a Core Participan...
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To ask His Majesty's Government what legal costs they have incurred to date as a result of their decision to seek a judicial review on the application of the Inquiries Act 2005 to the Covid-19 Inquiry.
Cabinet Office
We do not yet have a figure for the costs incurred. We brought this judicial review to seek clarification on a point of law and we are pleased that the Court agreed that there was an important legal question to consider. It acknowledged our concerns over ...
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Cabinet Office
We do not yet have a figure for the costs incurred. We brought this judicial review to seek clarification on a point of law and we are pleased that the Court agreed that there was an important legal question to consider. It acknowledged our concerns over ...
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Cabinet Office
The Government is fully committed to constructive engagement with the Covid-19 Inquiry and has been since its establishment. Government officials and lawyers meet with the Inquiry on a regular basis, both as part of a regular series of meetings and on an ...
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To ask His Majesty's Government what practical steps they are taking to embed lessons from the pandemic response to ensure future pandemic preparedness.
Department of Health and Social Care
The United Kingdom has flexible and well-tested pandemic response capabilities. Learning the lessons from COVID-19, we are working with the Centre for Pandemic Preparedness in the UK Health Security Agency to ensure a flexible and capabilities-based appro...
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To ask His Majesty's Government when the UK COVID-19 inquiry will complete; and whether they will put a cap on the (1) time frame, and (2) cost, permitted.
Cabinet Office
Under the Inquiries Act 2005, the process, timing and procedure of the Inquiry are decisions for the Inquiry’s independent Chair, Baroness Hallett. The Chair is under a statutory obligation to avoid unnecessary costs in the Inquiry’s work and she has been...
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To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the (a) outcomes and (b) lessons learned from the covid-19 inquiries in other countries.
Department of Health and Social Care
The Department is building on the valuable lessons to be learnt from COVID-19 to inform our preparedness for future pandemics and will review the lessons learnt reports from other countries with interest and ensure any relevant lessons are factored into o...
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To ask His Majesty's Government what support they are providing to the government departments in Northern Ireland to ensure that all required information is provided to the UK COVID-19 Inquiry in the absence of a functioning Northern Ireland Executive.
Cabinet Office
Government departments and the devolved administrations, including Northern Ireland, are individual core participants to the UK COVID-19 Inquiry, so departments are not able to provide support to them in responding to the Inquiry. Government departments a...
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To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will place in the Library of the House copies of all correspondence between his Department and the Right Honourable Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip on funding for his legal representation for the off
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of legal fees for judicial review of the notice from the UK Covid-19 Inquiry to his Department under section 21 of the Inquiries Act 2005.
Cabinet Office
The government’s work on the Inquiry requires legal support which departments will procure at their own discretion from approved internal and external sources. The Judicial Review is ongoing, and as such the Cabinet Office does not yet have an estimate of...
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Ministry of Justice
The UK Government Inquiries established in each year since 2017 are set out below. These include both non-statutory Inquiries and those established under the Inquiries Act 2005. They do not include Inquiries established by the Northern Ireland Executive o...
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Treasury
The Covid-19 pandemic has had a profound effect on the UK economy. Between 2019 Q4 and 2020 Q2, according to the Office for National Statistics the economy contracted by 23% - the steepest recession on record. The success of the UK’s vaccination campaign ...
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To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps the Department is taking to ensure that the Covid-19 inquiry hears views from people with protected characteristics including (a) ethnicity, (b) disability and (c) sex.
Cabinet Office
The Covid-19 inquiry's terms of reference require it to consider any disparities evident in the impact of the pandemic on different protected characteristics including (a) ethnicity, (b) disability and (c) sex, and to listen to the experiences of those mo...
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To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent discussions he has had with the chair of the covid-19 public inquiry on the progress of that inquiry.
Cabinet Office
The Cabinet Office, as sponsor department, has supported the Covid Inquiry with its practical set up. Under the Inquiries Act, the process, procedure and timing of the inquiry’s stages are matters for the independent inquiry Chair. Progress is well underw...
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To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department is taking steps to help ensure that the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities are fully represented in the Government's UK covid-19 public inquiry.
Cabinet Office
The Inquiry is specifically required to consider any disparities evident in the impact of the pandemic on different categories of people. This includes, but is not limited to, those relating to protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010 and equ...
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To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Prime Minister plans to meet with the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice to discuss appointing panel members to the UK Covid-19 Inquiry.
Cabinet Office
Appointments to an inquiry panel are made in accordance with the statutory provisions of the Inquiries Act 2005 and in consultation with the chair. Any representations on the composition of the panel will be duly considered by the Government. Moreover, th...
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Cabinet Office
The Inquiry’s timescales, process and procedure are all matters for its independent Chair, who is under a statutory duty to avoid unnecessary cost in the conduct of the Inquiry. The Inquiry will publish details of its expenditure on its website in due cou...
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Home Office
The Home Office no longer actively monitor staff deployment for Covid-19, the number of staff members where their role is wholly or in part related to Covid-19 can only be retrieved by disproportionate effort.However, the Department’s response to the Covi...
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Cabinet Office
There are 27 full time employees in one business unit currently working on the Government’s response to the Covid-19 Inquiry. There are no other business units in the Cabinet Office that are dedicated to COVID-19. Roles are not recorded at an individual l...
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Department for Transport
As of the 15th November 2022 there are 19 members of staff undertaking work on matters directly relating to Covid-19 where this work constitutes the majority of their working time. These staff members are primarily in DfT’s Covid-19 Inquiry Response Divis...
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