Covid Inquiry: what are the aims and how much will it cost? History of inquiries in the UK explained

The UK's highly-anticipated Covid Inquiry has finally kicked off, with the promise of answers over the country's reaction and response to the biggest health pandemic in a generation.

Led by Rt Hon Baroness Heather Carol Hallett DBE, the inquiry is expected to be one of the biggest and most extensive ever seen in the country. High profile hearings have already begun, with former Prime Minister David Cameron among those providing testimonies so far.

The hearings have been welcomed by campaign groups such as the Covid-19 Bereaved Families For Justice group. Failings and mistakes have already been acknowledged by political figures in government at the height of the pandemic, with former Health Secretary Matt Hancock saying he was "profoundly sorry" for the UK's lack of readiness.

But questions have been raised over the bill for the inquiry and the purpose of the report and what it could mean for the future. Here's everything you need to know about the process ahead.

What are the aims of the Covid inquiry?

According to the government document setting out the parameters of the Covid inquiry, there are numerous aims of investigating the UK's response to the pandemic. The findings of the inquiry are said to have in impact in "learning the lessons from the pandemic and informing the government’s preparations for the future."

In detail, the investigation will "consider any disparities evident in the impact of the pandemic on different categories of people". This includes those with protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010, including race, sex, religion and disability amongst others.

For example, the inquiry will investigate how different measures such as lockdown and preventative procedures impacted different facets of society and whether it had a negative impact on these groups. Testimony from political decision-makers at the time and also bereaved families will be among those heard in order to make recommendations.

The findings will aim to produce an analysis of the UK's preparedness for major public health response campaigns, including the effectiveness of decision-making between government departments, the effectiveness of measures such as lockdown and shielding, the impact on the mental health of the population and the impact on health workers.

These investigations will help to reach the second aim of the inquiry, which is to "inform preparations for future pandemics across the UK."

How long will the Covid Inquiry take to complete?

Hearings for the inquiry began on Tuesday 13 June 2023. To date, names such as Hancock and Cameron have made appearances, with a highly-anticipated hearing still to come from Boris Johnson.

With the amount of information the inquiry is expected to comb over and testimonies to collect, it may be a few years before any conclusions are met or published. The report itself has said that it is aiming to conclude by the summer of 2026, however some legal experts are predicting a more lenient timeline of 2027.

The amount of time it has taken to get the inquiry underway has been criticised by some, with inquiries in countries such as Sweden and Finland already finished. Delays were exacerbated by situations including the accessibility to WhatsApp messages of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

How much could the Covid Inquiry cost to complete?

Preparations for the Covid inquiry began in June 2022. Due to the high-profile nature of the inquiry, a hefty price tag has come with assembling the UK's most experienced law professionals and retaining them until the investigation's conclusion.

While official figures have not been released by the government, the UK and the devolved nations are estimated to have already poured around £100million into funding the inquiry so far. Before the hearings even began, the bill was forecasted to be over £85million.

What other major inquiries have been held in the UK?

According to the Institute for Government, the UK government and devolved nations have spent more than £630million on hearings from 1990 to 2017. While the Covid inquiry is expected to become the most expensive inquiry to take place in the UK, the second most expensive was the Saville Inquiry into the Bloody Sunday killings.

The inquiry, which cost almost £200million, began in 1998 and concluded in 2010. Established by former prime minister Tony Blair, the aim of the inquiry was to establish a timeline of event which took place on the day of the 'Bloody Sunday' massacre in Derry in January 1972 at the height of The Troubles.

Bereaved families had campaign for decades for an official inquiry into what happened on that day, with accusations that the British government had whitewashed the timeline of events to exonerate members of the British military and downplay their role in the massacre. Following extensive investigations, the report was published on 15 June 2010, with then-Prime Minister David Cameron making a statement in the House of Commons acknowledging that paratroopers had fired the first shot and killed an already-wounded man before violence broke out. Cameron then made a historic apology on behalf of the British government to the families affected.

One of the most high-profile public inquiries to take place in the UK in recent years was the Levenson Inquiry, which shone a light on the practices and ethics of media companies following the News Of The World phone hacking scandal. The inquiry was announced after the convictions of News Of The World royal editor Clive Goodman and private investigator Glenn Mulcaire for the illegal interception of phone messages.

Further police investigations found that multiple incidences of illegal phone hacking had taken place within the organisation. In a press released, the aim of the Leveson Inquiry was to address "the culture, practices and ethics of the press, including contacts between the press and politicians and the press and the police; it is to consider the extent to which the current regulatory regime has failed and whether there has been a failure to act upon any previous warnings about media misconduct."

It was found at the end of the inquiry that the power of the existing Press Complaints Commission was not sufficient and recommended the creation of a new independent body, in which membership would be voluntary but further reaching than its predecessor.

The findings of an inquiry are not legally-bound, with David Cameron choosing against invoking the necessary legislation to make required changes to the industry.

One major ongoing public inquiry is the Grenfell Tower Inquiry. The hearings, which are currently in their second phase due to being delayed by the Covid lockdown, began in 2017 after the fatal fire earlier that year which killed 72 people in a London residential tower block.

The inquiry is aiming "to establish the facts of what happened at Grenfell Tower in order to take the necessary action to prevent a similar tragedy from happening again". It is predicted that the inquiry has cost £170million so far, with a total expenditure expected in the range of £250million.