UK Covid-19 Inquiry - Module 1 report: progress update - July 2026

Ministerial foreword

On 16 January 2025, the Scottish Government published its response to the UK Covid-19 Inquiry’s Module 1 report and recommendations. The response welcomed the Chair’s careful and considered recommendations and set out details of the actions the Scottish Government will take to deliver the changes needed.

The Scottish Government continues to be fully committed to making effective, practical, and measurable improvements in pandemic planning and preparedness. The Scottish Government has been making strong progress in implementing the Inquiry’s recommendations, with six of the nine recommendations relevant to the Scottish Government now delivered and closed.

Since our last progress report (published in January 2026), the Scottish Government has submitted close out reports to the Chair in respect of five recommendations (Recommendations 3, 4, 5, 6 and 10). As part of our actions to deliver these recommendations, we have completed our review of our risk assessment processes and work is underway on the next iteration of the Scottish Risk Assessment (SRA), which is scheduled for delivery by late 2027. In line with the Chair’s recommendations, the updated SRA will contain all risks relevant to Scotland in a single document. The Scottish Risk Assessment Group, comprised of responders, subject matter experts and policy officials, has been established to support the risk review process and consideration of vulnerabilities.

The Scottish Government continues to work closely with our four nation counterparts to deliver the Chair’s recommendations and improvements in pandemic preparedness. A Memorandum of Understanding, outlining mechanisms for rapid sharing of data and analysis across the four nations in preparation for, or during, any future crisis has now been signed by all four nations. Following participation in the UK Government’s pilot process for independent review of whole-system civil emergency preparedness and resilience, we continue to engage with the UK Government as it progresses with the Catastrophic Risks Assurance Programme.

On 17 March 2026, the Scottish Government published its response to the Inquiry’s Module 2 Report, which examined core decision-making and political governance across the UK. The response took into account overlaps with Module 1 and work already taken forward.

The Scottish Government remains committed to ensuring that Scotland is as resilient as possible to future risks, and we continue to take the necessary steps to achieve this. The Scottish Government continues to work closely with our partners and stakeholders to deliver the outstanding recommendations.

With thanks to the Chair for her agreement, the Scottish Government’s next progress update will be a combined report covering the UK Inquiry’s Modules 1 and 2, to be published before the end of November 2026.

Jenny Gilruth MSP

DFM and Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government