Publication of UK Covid-19 Inquiry Module 2 Report - Ministerial Statement

Presiding Officer, the Covid-19 pandemic had a devastating impact on people across Scotland and indeed its impact continues to be felt today. In recognition of the loss, hurt and suffering experienced by people across Scotland and the rest of the UK it's vital that we learn lessons from the pandemic to make improvements for the future.

We want to make effective and practical changes to learn from past events and to ensure we are prepared and ready for future challenges, like another pandemic. The Scottish and UK Covid-19 Inquiries are playing a valuable role in helping us to do that, scrutinising the approach taken during the pandemic and in holding decision makers, including the Scottish Government, to account. 

Today, I welcome publication of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry’s Module 2 report, published this afternoon. The report examines decision-making and political governance across the United Kingdom during the Covid-19 pandemic, in a period that profoundly affected every aspect of our national life.

The Scottish Government has fully engaged with and supported the evidence-gathering process for the UK Inquiry. Both the First Minister and I gave oral evidence during the Module 2A public hearings in Edinburgh in January 2024, alongside many other current and former ministers and officials, contributing to the wealth of evidence collated by the inquiry.

I would like to extend my thanks to the chair and the inquiry team for their efforts in preparing the report. I am conscious of the immense responsibility the inquiry team holds in ensuring important lessons are learned for the future.

I appreciate that timing of the publication of this independent report means that members will have had limited time to review the report prior to this statement. The same is true of me. However, given the significant public interest, I thought it important that I update parliament on the day of publication within the parliamentary day.  I am giving a statement today, in order to allow me to provide a more detailed update than a response to a parliamentary question would allow and to provide the opportunity for members to ask me questions on such an important report.  

As this report publishes, my thoughts turn to the many families across Scotland who lost loved ones during the pandemic. In recognition of the hurt, loss and suffering felt by many we are committed to learning from the past.

I enormously appreciate the contributions of all the individuals and organisations who have shared their experiences with the inquiry—often revisiting traumatic events and profoundly challenging periods of their lives. Their contribution has been vital in helping to tell the story of the pandemic and in allowing the inquiries to play their role in scrutinising the decisions taken.

During the pandemic, the Scottish Government’s foremost priority was to protect the public from the novel Covid-19 virus. We had to learn and adapt rapidly, implementing unprecedented measures to limit transmission and safeguard our most vulnerable communities. With the benefit of hindsight, we acknowledge that some choices—made in good faith at the time and under immense pressures—may not have always been the right ones.

As parliament will be aware, in July 2024 the UK Inquiry published its first report which looked at resilience and preparedness and we published our response to that report in January this year. Since then we have taken forward some further key actions including participating in a UK-wide exercise to test government pandemic preparedness and publishing a report setting out improvements and changes introduced to the Scottish resilience landscape.

Following publication of the Module 1 report there was collective discussion on the recommendations across the four nations ahead of us publishing a response. In considering the inquiry’s findings for Module 2, we remain committed to working constructively with our counterparts in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland to ensure that our collective response to any future emergency is effective, practical and well-coordinated.

The Scottish Government will now take the necessary time to carefully consider the findings and recommendations. We are committed to a thorough and thoughtful review process, and we will respond fully in due course. Those affected by the pandemic, particularly those who bore some form of loss, have placed a great deal of trust in the Scottish Government, not just to take on the challenges that Covid-19 posed, but also to be open and transparent in our approach.

Taking into account the views of people who lived through and experienced the pandemic will be vital in helping to shape our response to the recommendations, and that's why our response will be informed by wide stakeholder engagement, including a dedicated Covid Inquiries Response Engagement Group, which brings together representatives from key stakeholder organisations. It includes, among others, voices from organisations representing bereaved families, as well as those working with disabled people, minority ethnic and other marginalised communities and older people.

Members of the group will provide their learning and insight to the Scottish Government during the development of the response to recommendations, ensuring the interests of their member groups are fully represented.

The group, which I will chair, will meet over the coming weeks, to discuss the report and recommendations. I look forward to engaging directly with those who have generously offered their time, expertise and challenge to support this vital work.

We will now take the necessary time and space to carefully and comprehensively examine the inquiry’s report and its recommendations. This will enable us to reflect meaningfully on the findings, consider the implications in depth and engage constructively with the content, ensuring that any subsequent actions or responses will drive meaningful improvement. The Engagement Group will play a vital role in providing robust and effective challenge as we navigate this journey.

While today is an important milestone within the UK Inquiry’s work, we must remember that it is one part of a careful and thorough process. We'll continue to fully engage and work with both the UK and Scottish Covid-19 Inquiries and we look forward to their future findings.

It's vital that our national response to any future emergency is informed and strengthened by the lessons we have learned from the Covid-19 pandemic. We remain committed to being open and transparent and focused on delivering a response that delivers improvements for the future.