COVID INQUIRY – AND WHAT IT WILL LOOK AT

THE Covid inquiry will begin hearing evidence in Wales on Tuesday, with First Minister Mark Drakeford and former health minister Vaughan Gething both expected to give evidence and face questions.

The inquiry was set up to examine the facts and to find out exactly what happened in order to make findings and recommendations.

The inquiry has been split into different areas of investigation, looking at different parts of the UK’s pandemic response, being called modules.

There are, so far, three modules announced. One looks at resilience, planning and preparedness across the UK. A second looks at core political decision making and a third at the health care system.

This part of the inquiry is part of module 2, called “core UK decision-making and political governance – Wales (Module 2B)”.

It firstly looks at core political and administrative governance and decision-making for the UK, including the initial response, central government decision making, political and civil service performance as well as the effectiveness of relationships with governments in the devolved administrations and local and voluntary sectors. The inquiry is expected to run until 20262027.

The three devolved nations of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are being treated as individually separate modules. The Welsh hearings are taking place in Cardiff, from Tuesday until March 14. The public hearings take place at the Mercure hotel, on Circle Way East, Llanedeyrn, from 10am until 4.30pm.

It is widely expected that First Minister Mark Drakeford, Vaughan Gething, who was health minister during the pandemic, and his successor Eluned Morgan will appear.

Civil servants will also be required to appear.

This specific module will look at:

The structures of the Welsh Government and the key bodies within it involved in Wales’ response to the pandemic and their relationships and communications with the UK Government, other devolved administrations and councils within Wales.

The Welsh Government’s initial understanding of, and response to, the nature and spread of Covid-19 in Wales in the period between January and March 2020 in light of information and advice received from the UK Government and other relevant international and national bodies, advice from scientific, medical and other advisers and the response of other countries.

Decision-making by the Welsh Government relating to the imposition or non-imposition of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) including lockdowns, local restrictions, working from home, reduction of person to person contact, social distancing, the use of face coverings and border controls in Wales; the degree of and rationale behind differences in approach between the Welsh Government and other governments in the UK; the timeliness and reasonableness of such NPIs, including the likely effects had decisions to intervene been taken earlier or differently; the development of the approach to NPIs in light of the Welsh Government’s understanding of their impact on transmission, infection and death; the identification of at risk and other vulnerable groups in Wales and the assessment of the likely impact of the contemplated NPIs on such groups in light of existing inequalities; and the impact, if any, of the funding of the Welsh pandemic response on such decision-making, including funding received from the UK Government.

Access to and use in decision-making of medical and scientific expertise, data collection and modelling relating to the spread of the virus in Wales; the measuring and understanding of transmission, infection, mutation, re-infection and death rates in Wales; and the relationship between and operation of relevant systems for the collection, modelling and dissemination of data.

Public health communications in Wales in relation to the steps being taken to control the spread of the virus; transparency of messaging; the use of behavioural management and the maintenance of public confidence in the Welsh Government, including the impact of any alleged breaches of rules and standards by ministers, officials and advisers.

The public health and coronavirus legislation and regulations that were proposed and enacted: their proportionality and enforcement across Wales.

There is not a standalone Welsh inquiry, but Welsh sections of the main UK-wide inquiry.

In May last year, the Senedd set up a Covid-19 special purpose committee to look at reports at each stage of the UK inquiry and propose to the Senedd, by motion, any gaps identified in the preparedness and response of the Welsh Government and other Welsh public bodies during the pandemic. The committee has six, cross-party members and had its first meeting in July.

There is a stream of the inquiry on YouTube and if you wish to attend in person, you can reserve seats in the public gallery. Applications are now live on the Covid inquiry website at https:// covid19.public-inquiry.uk/publichearings/#section_4_attendinghearings-in-person