Welsh families win their Covid inquiry battle
A CAMPAIGN group set up to seek justice for Welsh families who lost loved ones to Covid-19 has been given a key role in the Uk-wide public inquiry into government handling of the pandemic.
It has recently been confirmed that the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice Cymru (CBFJC) group has been granted “core participant status” in the first module of the inquiry, which will examine the UK’S resilience and preparedness for such a health emergency.
However, the CBFJC still firmly believes that a Wales-specific inquiry should be held as it would achieve the “proper scrutiny that Wales deserves”.
The Welsh Government said a Uk-wide inquiry was the best way to understand the experiences of people in Wales.
As one of only 28 groups granted core participant status, CBFJC will be heavily involved in the inquiry process.
This includes being represented and making legal submissions, receiving disclosure of documentation, suggesting questions and receiving advance notice of the inquiry’s report.
The group lead, Anna-louise Marsh-rees, said: “This is a key milestone in our campaign and a huge relief to know that Welsh families will be represented in the UK inquiry.”
She added: “Whilst welcoming the chair’s commitment to scrutinising the actions of the devolved administrations, we remain concerned that module one will not go far enough in examining the Wales-specific issues that need to be investigated in depth by this inquiry.”