UK Covid-19 Inquiry - Module 2 report: Scottish Government response

Theme 4: Intergovernmental working

Throughout emergency planning and delivery, collaboration with other governments across the United Kingdom is crucial. As we put in place a system of response that will allow us to respond effectively to civil emergencies, it will be important to be clear on how the various devolved and reserved responsibilities of respective governments interact and complement each other. Respect for the devolved responsibilities of Scottish Ministers, and the appropriate lines of accountability to legislatures should be enshrined in any agreed structures.

Recommendation 18 – Attendance at meetings of COBR by representatives of the devolved governments

Chair’s recommendation:

The UK Government should invite the devolved governments, as a matter of standard practice, to nominate relevant ministers and officials to attend COBR meetings in the event of relevant whole-system civil emergencies that have the potential to have UK-wide effects.

Scottish Government response:

The Scottish Government welcomes this recommendation, while recognising this recommendation is for UK Government to lead. The Scottish Government agrees with the importance of ensuring the devolved governments are appropriately engaged in UK wide crisis response arrangements, particularly where emergencies have the potential to have UK wide effects. We recognise the value of maintaining clear, consistent mechanisms for Ministerial and official participation in Cabinet Office Briefing Rooms (COBR) meetings during relevant whole system civil emergencies.

The UK Government’s Amber Book, revised and published in April 2025, already sets out expectations for how the UK Government should engage with devolved governments during crises. The Amber Book is also clear the Scottish Government should respond to devolved matters. The Scottish Government fed in extensively to this revision to ensure our existing arrangements and requirements were properly reflected.

We remain committed to working collaboratively with the UK Government to ensure crisis management arrangements continue to operate effectively and reflect the needs and responsibilities of the devolved governments, as well as maintaining appropriate lines of ministerial accountability to relevant legislatures.

Strengthening clarity and consistency in these processes would support improved coordination during civil emergencies and reinforce our collective commitment to resilience across the UK.

Actions and Implementation timescales:

No action is required for this recommendation. Scottish Government officials will continue to engage with UK Government counterparts to ensure the Scottish Government has appropriate representation at COBR meetings.

Accountable Officer:

The Director General for Exchequer, Strategy and Performance, working with the Civil Contingencies Division within the Scottish Government, is accountable for the implementation of the Scottish elements of this recommendation.

Recommendation 19 – Intergovernmental structure and relations

Chair’s recommendation:

While intergovernmental relations should be facilitated through COBR in the initial months of any future pandemic, the UK Government and devolved governments should ensure that a specific four-nations structure, concerning pandemic response, is stood up at the same time as the transition away from COBR to nation-specific decision-making structures. This should meet regularly during a pandemic and be attended by all heads of government. Arrangements for these four-nations meetings should be incorporated into future pandemic preparedness strategies (see the Inquiry’s Module 1 Report, Recommendation 4).

Scottish Government response:

The Scottish Government accepts this recommendation in principle. The Scottish Government agrees that there is significant value in achieving alignment in decision-making across the four nations, where appropriate and where it respects devolved decision-making.

The initial COBR response and any longer-term response and recovery structures must give due consideration to Scottish Ministers’ accountability to the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish people. Any decision in a devolved area must ultimately be taken by Scottish Ministers with due regard to wider UK-based pandemic response.

The Scottish Government will work with the UK Government to agree in advance the structure for four nations coordination of the pandemic response to be used when transitioning to longer-term response and recovery structures.

This structure should be agreed on a four nations basis, with the facilitation of intergovernmental relations (IGR) through emergency and longer-term response and recovery structures delivered through a cross-government agreed Concept of Operations (CONOPS) or terms of reference document that codifies how this will be achieved. Any agreement should provide enough flexibility to tailor the proposed structure to the specific emergency situation, while respecting the principles of good intergovernmental working. Any intergovernmental agreement to facilitate immediate and longer-term decision-making must respect and help deliver devolved decision-making. It should also make clear how the transparency of this structure will be maintained through appropriate record keeping and reporting to parliaments.

In this regard, it is the Scottish Government’s view that the existing IGR structures and principles for engagement, jointly agreed by the UK Government and the devolved governments as part of the 2022 Intergovernmental Relations Review, provide a good foundation for any long-term pandemic or emergency response. That review was in part informed by the experience of four nations working during the Covid pandemic.

Actions and Implementation timescales:

To deliver this recommendation, the Scottish Government will work with the Cabinet Office and the devolved governments through well-established intergovernmental channels. If the existing four nations IGR structures are used as the basis for any proposed structures, we anticipate that four nations agreement on the proposed approach is achievable within 12 months. This implementation timescale also takes into account that the Exercise Pegasus lessons will be delivered by winter 2026.

Accountable Officer:

The Director General for Exchequer, Strategy and Performance, working with the Civil Contingencies and Constitution and UK Relations divisions within the Scottish Government, will be accountable for the implementation of the Scottish elements of this recommendation.