On Thursday 16 January, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Pat McFadden MP, made a statement in the commons on the government’s response to Module 1 of the Covid-19 Inquiry. A transcript of the statement is available as well as supporting documentation. 

The minister acknowledged that after years of under-investment, services were already suffering before Covid-19, and there was no preparation for a pandemic. The government is now building an NHS fit for the future and acknowledges that pandemic resilience is not just about responding to crises, but also about strong government services, and a strong NHS.

The government has adopted the 2023 Biological Security Strategy to protect from significant risks in the future. A new resilience academy is to be launched to help plan for crises including pandemics – some of these improvements build on the last government’s work. Westminster and devolved governments will enact national pandemic response exercises, and they will carry out the first one later this year to test plans.

He also acknowledged that the Covid-19 pandemic disproportionately affected vulnerable groups, and so a new vulnerability map will be made to show who may be vulnerable in a crisis. The government will also institute a better approach to risk assessment – there will be a new, updated national risk register to show the latest information about the risks the country faces, and this will support planning, preparation, and response. The government will create a national data library to ensure they have data available for these initiatives.