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
Response
Under Consideration
Under Consideration
UK Government
Initial Response
20 Nov 2025
No government response yet received. Module 2 report published 20 November 2025.
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.
Responsible Bodies
Cabinet Office
Primary
Themes & Tags
Recommendation age
0.3 yrs
Last formal update
20 Nov 2025