Covid inquiry bill reaches £40m after just 23 days including £3.5m on ‘listening exercise’

The Covid Inquiry has spent nearly £40 million just after 23 days of evidence hearing, it has been reported. According to The Telegraph, the whopping figure was obtained based on its financial report, which details advertising costs and legal fees.

Since its announcement in May 2021, the inquiry has allocated £38m for legal fees and advertising related to its "listening exercise." This spending covers the period up until the end of June before the first phase concluded in mid-July. Out of this amount, over £20m went to lawyers and £m was allocated for the inquiry’s staff.

During the first financial quarter of this year, the inquiry’s expenses reached £14.7 million, equivalent to approximately £160,000 spent daily. The first evidence hearings took place over 23 days, spanning six weeks, and there were also preliminary hearings held.

In addition to the inquiry’s evidence-gathering efforts, it initiated a commemorative listening exercise called "Every Story Matters," which has already incurred costs of £3.5m.

The report said this exercise includes an extensive tapestry displayed at the hearing centre in central London and an advertising campaign encompassing radio bulletins and bus stop billboards.

Research for the "Every Story Matters" initiative amounted to over half a million pounds, while the website and online form cost £1.2m. An extra £1.4m was spent on "communications materials," and approximately a quarter of a million pounds were allocated for "consultation and engagement" associated with the listening exercise.

The inquiry’s legal fees for the 62 appointed lawyers, assisting the chair, have totaled nearly £14m. Additionally, £7.8m has been allocated for lawyers representing core participants, ranging from long Covid groups to the Trades Union Congress.

The Secretariat responsible for the inquiry has incurred costs exceeding £5 million so far. The inquiry secretary, Ben Connah, receives an annual salary of £90,000, while the inquiry chair, Baroness Hallett, has received £192,000 since being appointed by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson in December 2021.

Professor Karol Sikora, an oncologist with concerns about the long-term consequences of decisions made during the pandemic, said the substantial funds spent on the inquiry could be better utilised for cancer centres.

He said: “Why are we pumping money into the pockets of lawyers and advertising when waiting lists are bursting at the seams?. This inquiry is proving to be an enormous waste of money.”