COVID-M2.15 Response Under Consideration AI-assessed

Parliamentary Scrutiny of Emergency Powers

Recommendation

The UK government and devolved administrations should ensure that the draft affirmative procedure is the standard process for enacting substantial and wide-ranging powers in a civil emergency, such as a pandemic, under primary public health legislation. Any departure from this procedure should be the exception, with clear criteria and safeguards in place to prevent the bypassing of parliamentary scrutiny.

Published Evidence Summary
The following publicly available evidence relates to this recommendation:
The COVID-19 Inquiry's Module 2 report, published on 2025-11-20, recommended that the draft affirmative procedure be the standard for enacting substantial emergency powers under primary public health legislation. As of 2026-03-18, no government response to this recommendation has been publicly received, and no legislative changes or policy statements addressing this procedure have been identified in the provided official sources.
How was this assessed?
Assessed by gemini-2.5-flash on 18 Mar 2026
Checked data held on this site (government responses, progress updates, independent evidence)
External sources searched: www.gov.uk, www.legislation.gov.uk, hansard.parliament.uk
Jurisdiction
UK-wide
Response
Under Consideration
Under Consideration UK Government Initial Response
20 Nov 2025

No government response yet received. Module 2 report published 20 November 2025.

Read Full Response
No Published Response Scottish Government Follow-up
20 Nov 2025

No formal response published by this government.

No Published Response Welsh Government Follow-up
20 Nov 2025

No formal response published by this government.

No Published Response Northern Ireland Executive Follow-up
20 Nov 2025

No formal response published by this government.

Progress Timeline
Official Report
20 Nov 2025

Status: Pending. No government response yet received. Module 2 report published 20 November 2025.

Source
Report Module 2: Core Decision-Making 20 Nov 2025
Responsible Bodies
Cabinet Office Primary
Recommendation age 0.3 yrs
Last formal update 20 Nov 2025