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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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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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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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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Ministry of Justice
The Ministry of Justice does not hold centrally a figure for how many employees in the department work on matters related to COVID-19. However, I can confirm that there are currently 12.7 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) employees working on the department’s re...
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To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing bereavement support for the families of people who died from covid-19.
Department of Health and Social Care
Since March 2020, the Government has allocated more than £10.2 million to mental health charities, including bereavement support charities, to support adults and children experiencing poor mental health due to the impact of COVID-19. The Government contin...
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Cabinet Office
The Covid-19 Inquiry will play a key role in learning lessons from the pandemic. The final Terms of Reference for the Inquiry were published in June. The Prime Minister accepted all of Baroness Hallett’s recommendations. The Government does not comment on...
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To ask the Attorney General, whether (a) she, (b) the Solicitor General or (c) his predecessor have had discussions with Cabinet colleagues on (i) the UK Covid-19 Inquiry, (ii) disclosures to that inquiry and (iii) potential restrictions on the release of
Attorney General
By convention, whether the Law Officers have been asked to provide advice, and the contents of any such advice, is not disclosed outside Government. This convention protects the Law Officers’ ability as chief legal advisers to the Government to give full ...
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To ask the Attorney General, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on the likelihood of the Government being subject to claims for damages from bereaved families during or after the UK Covid-19 Inquiry.
Attorney General
By convention, whether the Law Officers have been asked to provide advice, and the contents of any such advice, is not disclosed outside Government. This convention protects the Law Officers’ ability as chief legal advisers to the Government to give full ...
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To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Government is using a traffic light ranking system to assess disclosures to the Covid-19 Public Inquiry.
Cabinet Office
The Covid-19 Inquiry will play a key role in learning lessons from the pandemic. The final Terms of Reference for the Inquiry were published in June. The Prime Minister accepted all of Baroness Hallett’s recommendations. The Government does not comment on...
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To ask the Attorney General, whether (a) she, (b) the Solicitor General or (b) his predecessor have had discussions with the First Treasury Counsel on (i) the UK Covid-19 Inquiry, (ii) disclosures to that inquiry and (iii) potential restrictions on the re
Attorney General
By convention, whether the Law Officers have been asked to provide advice, and the contents of any such advice, is not disclosed outside Government. This convention protects the Law Officers’ ability as chief legal advisers to the Government to give full ...
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To ask Her Majesty's Government when the terms of reference for the UK COVID-19 public inquiry, chaired by Lady Hallett, will be published; and what are the reasons for the delay.
Cabinet Office
The final terms of reference for the UK COVID-19 inquiry were published on 28 June 2022. This followed a full and extensive public consultation process led by the inquiry’s independent chair, in addition to engagement with the devolved administrations as ...
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To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many Legionnaires Disease (a) cases and (b) deaths in hospitals there have been since the beginning of the covid-19 pandemic; what steps hospitals have taken to protect people with that conditi
Department of Health and Social Care
The data is not available in the format requested. The COVID-19 infection prevention and control guidance aimed to support healthcare organisations to maintain the safety of patients and staff. Organisations continue to be responsible for managing the ris...
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To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will take steps to ensure that the scope of the Covid-19 Inquiry includes an assessment of the potential impact on people bereaved by covid-19 of the findings of the Cabinet Office report entitled Findings
Cabinet Office
In March, the Prime Minister published the draft terms of reference for the public inquiry into COVID-19. The Prime Minister asked Baroness Hallett - the inquiry’s chair - to consult publicly on the draft and to make proposals for further refinements. Fol...
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To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make it his policy to require the proposed covid-19 inquiry to collect evidence on the impact of breaches of covid-19 restrictions at 10 Downing Street on people who were bereaved during covid-19.
Cabinet Office
In March, the Prime Minister published the draft terms of reference for the public inquiry into COVID-19. The Prime Minister asked Baroness Hallett - the inquiry’s chair - to consult publicly on the draft and to make proposals for further refinements. Fol...
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To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has instructed his Department to preserve evidence for the inquiry into the Government's handling of the covid-19 outbreak.
Department of Health and Social Care
The Department is undertaking the appropriate preparatory work ahead of the final Terms of Reference for the Inquiry being announced.Well-established records management processes are in place across Government and all Departments are aware of the need to ...
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Cabinet Office
Under the Inquiries Rules 2006, the appointment of Counsel to the Inquiry is a matter for an inquiry’s independent chair. Baroness Hallett, the chair of the Covid-19 Inquiry, has appointed Hugo Keith QC as Lead Counsel to the Inquiry. Information as to fe...
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Cabinet Office
Under the Inquiries Rules 2006, the appointment of Counsel to the Inquiry is a matter for an inquiry’s independent chair. Baroness Hallett, the chair of the Covid-19 Inquiry, has appointed Hugo Keith QC as Lead Counsel to the Inquiry. Information as to fe...
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To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the process is for the selection of counsel for the forthcoming public inquiry into the covid-19 pandemic.
Cabinet Office
Under the Inquiries Rules 2006, the appointment of Counsel to the Inquiry is a matter for an inquiry’s independent chair. Baroness Hallett, the chair of the Covid-19 Inquiry, has appointed Hugo Keith QC as Lead Counsel to the Inquiry. Information as to fe...
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Cabinet Office
The timing of a statutory inquiry’s various stages are, under the Inquiries Act 2005, a matter for its independent chair to determine.
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Cabinet Office
The Prime Minister has appointed the Rt Hon Baroness Heather Hallett DBE to chair the public inquiry into COVID-19. The inquiry will be established on a statutory basis, with formal powers, and will begin its work in Spring 2022.Draft terms of reference w...
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To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, when the draft terms of reference for the covid-19 public inquiry will be published.
Cabinet Office
The Prime Minister has appointed the Rt Hon Baroness Heather Hallett DBE to chair the public inquiry into COVID-19. The inquiry will be established on a statutory basis, with formal powers, and will begin its work in Spring 2022.Draft terms of reference w...
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To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, for what reason the inquiry into the Government's handling of the covid-19 pandemic has not started.
Cabinet Office
The Prime Minister has appointed the Rt Hon Baroness Heather Hallett DBE to chair the public inquiry into COVID-19. The inquiry will be established on a statutory basis, with formal powers, and will begin its work in Spring 2022.Draft terms of reference w...
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