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73-674: The UK Covid-19 Inquiry is an ongoing, independent public inquiry into the United Kingdom 's response to, and the impact of, the COVID-19 pandemic , and to learn lessons for the future. Public hearings began in June 2023. Boris Johnson announced the inquiry in May 2021, to start in Spring 2022. In December 2021, Heather Hallett was announced as the chair of the inquiry. The draft terms of

146-541: A formal finding that the project will produce public benefit. This procedure was established by the law on expropriation enacted on 7 July 1833, which extended an earlier law enacted in 1810. A number of historically important public inquiries have taken place in South Africa since the advent of full democracy in 1994. A number of which have looked into national scale events such as systematic human rights abuses during apartheid or wide scale corruption . In

219-412: A fraction of these requests. The political decision whether to appoint a public inquiry into an event was found to be dependent on several factors. The first is the extent of media coverage of the event; those that receive more media interest are more likely to be inquired. Second, since the appointment of a public inquiry is typically made by government ministers, events that involve allegations of blame on

292-435: A government, and tend to lose credibility when they find no fault on the part of the government. In France, any major project which requires the compulsory acquisition of private property must, before being approved, be the subject of a public inquiry (usually by the prefect of the region or department in which the project will take place); the favourable outcome of such an inquiry is a déclaration d'utilité publique ,

365-778: A lack of resources, with Sally Davies , the Chief Medical Officer at the time, stating that a lack of medical ventilators and the logistics of disposal of dead bodies were serious issues. The full results of the exercise remained classified up till 23 October 2020 following public inquiry and pressure. In November 2020, the United Kingdom government stated that all identified lessons have been discussed accordingly and appropriately taken into account for its pandemic preparedness plans. The Daily Telegraph reported in March 2020 one government source as saying that

438-484: A lack of ventilators being previously identified in Exercise Cygnus, there was a shortage of them during COVID-19 with the government stockpiles proving to be insufficient. In March 2020, six weeks following the first case of coronavirus in the United Kingdom, Matt Hancock , acting Health Secretary of the United Kingdom, turned to a range of corporations such as JCB and Rolls-Royce , stating, "If you produce

511-451: A large pandemic. Investigation also showed that the reverse triage strategy proposed by the NHS , whereby patients are moved from hospitals to social care, may not be well supported by the current social care system. This requires a high level of teamwork across several corporations, which was detailed through a provided framework but may not be viable under the pressure and widespread impact of

584-434: A local level, implicating the revision of the "Pandemic Concept of Operations". Little tactical coordination was observed when the need for services outweighed the capacity of local responders, particularly in communities with excess death, social care facilities and amongst National Health Service staff. The need for more precise protocols was identified to guide health care providers at an operational level should there be

657-434: A need to drastically step up local response. A suggestion was to implement planning at a regional level as opposed to through local resilience forums for crucial aspects of pandemic influenza response (e.g., excess death). This improves coordination across multiple agencies locally. Logistically, more health workers and resources such as ventilators, personal protective equipment (PPE) and hospital beds are required to face

730-479: A pandemic will further aid the trajectory of emergency strategies and how they can be communicated. In 2019, the Moral and Ethical Advisory Group (MEAG) was established to give unbiased guidance to government regarding controversial health issues. A lack of resources and limited ability to increase supply in face of demand was identified in health disciplines. This affects how emergency plans can be operationalised at

803-449: A pandemic. Local resilience forums have announced that they depend on subject matter experts for more complicated aspects of pandemic response to implement responses. These professionals do not belong to LRF but give detailed technical support to enable colleagues to comprehend different elements of the response. The Strategic Coordinating Group (SRG) structure is used by experts for holistic contribution. Doubts were raised if this method

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876-555: A pandemic. NHS England recognises that a variety of sectors are implicated, hence a central administration and unified protocol to oversee the whole strategy is required for organisations to work synonymously. Devolved administrations have separate contingency plans which were not investigated during Exercise Cygnus. In this segment, Wales was also excluded as it had previously investigated its response through "Exercise Cygnet" conducted in 2015. The proposition to roll back on legislation and regulatory restrictions, particularly within

949-417: A separate Scottish COVID-19 Inquiry . The BMJ advocated for an inquiry in May 2020 to take place before an expected second wave of infections. Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice were pressuring the government to launch a judge-led statutory public inquiry into the pandemic and the government's response to it , with a rapid review phase. The group threatened legal action, and lawyers representing

1022-669: A ventilator, we will buy it. No number [you produce] is too high". Results of Exercise Cygnus were leaked to The Guardian newspaper in May 2020. A complete version was later released in October 2020 by the Department of Health and Social Care . Four main areas of improvement as well as 22 other weaknesses were identified. During Exercise Cygnus, the strategy used was a combination of Department of Health and Social Care 's UK Influenza Pandemic Preparedness Strategy 2011, as well as eight or more other scientific documents gleaned from

1095-410: Is determined by pandemic influenza planning assumptions. Previous findings from Department of Health and Social Care provide direction as to what type of corrections are appropriate for health legislation in the midst of a pandemic. Devolved administrations were advised to adopt similar measures in fields of devolved competence. The need for future work to expand on the types of restrictions affected

1168-419: The COVID-19 pandemic , despite it being previously identified as a weakness through Exercise Cygnus. An explanation given was that Exercise Cygnus was based on a curable influenza, whereas treatment for COVID-19 is still unavailable. In November 2020, the Department of Health and Social Care website stated that findings from Exercise Cygnus, coupled with suggestions from scientific experts, have incorporated in

1241-647: The H1N1 pandemic in 2009. However, the exercise revealed that there was no overview or central management to coordinate all participants. As of October 2016, feedback showed that organisations varied in preparedness, with some relying on corporate memory of the 2009 H1N1 response, and others depending on individual pandemic protocols which may be outdated, missing or incomplete. There was also demonstration of silo planning between and within some corporations, however organisations had different levels of detail and structure that could not correspond well when used simultaneously. It

1314-751: The TUC , Unison , GMB the British Medical Association , Royal College of Nursing and Royal College of Physicians were also in support. Equality activists Zara Mohammed and Simon Woolley supported an inquiry. Calls for an inquiry was supported by political figures Keir Starmer (Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition ), Ed Davey (Leader of the Liberal Democrats ), Bob Kerslake (former Head of

1387-523: The Cabinet Office, although it later emerged that he had only provided WhatsApp messages from May 2021 when he got a new phone following a security breach on his previous phone. The Cabinet Office supplied redacted versions, saying they had removed material not relevant to the Inquiry, but the Inquiry asked for the unredacted material using a Section 21 notice, leading to a dispute in May 2023 with

1460-510: The Commissions of Inquiry Ordinance was enacted for establishing such a commission. The commission established after the 2012 Lamma Island ferry collision produced a report of its findings which they made public; an internal report was kept confidential. In the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests , one of the five key demands of the protesters, was establishing another commission for the protests itself. Exercise Cygnus Exercise Cygnus

1533-557: The Department of Health's confirmation that it held no further reports evidencing the findings of Exercise Cygnus, Dr Qureshi withdrew his legal action for Judicial Review. However, questions were later raised about whether the Government had disclosed all relevant material, and Dr Qureshi argued that the Department of Health continued to withhold a plan for surge capacity and "refusing NHS care to large numbers of sick patients" in

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1606-747: The Home Civil Service ), and former Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron . Justin Welby , the Archbishop of Canterbury , had also called for an inquiry. The Institute for Government also supported inquiry calls. Proposals for topics to address in the inquiry have included: the scientific advice given to ministers, the death rate in the UK, the test, track and trace system, communication of infection control measures and implementation of lockdown measures , travel restrictions, attempts to redress

1679-522: The Inquiry was asking the wrong questions and had learned nothing about the problems of the use of modelling which he thought had led to inaccuracies in decision making. He says that the models failed to consider the effects of behaviour change, citing historic work by Neil Ferguson , and evidence given Ben Warner . Heneghan argues that there was a need for a "red team" to challenge government policy during future pandemics given Heneghan's belief that young academics were unable to challenge an orthodoxy during

1752-592: The Prime Minister Dominic Cummings gave evidence on 31 October 2023. In WhatsApp messages sent to senior adviser Lee Cain, Cummings said that then prime minister Boris Johnson believed that the pandemic would "be like the swine flu". In other messages in reference to deputy cabinet secretary Helen MacNamara , he called her propriety and ethics "bullshit" and said that it was "designed to waste huge amounts of his time". He also said that he wanted to "personally handcuff her and escort her from

1825-523: The UK government. Draft terms of reference were announced on 11 March 2022. Issues covered included the UK's preparedness, the use of lockdowns and other non-pharmaceutical interventions , pandemic management in hospitals and care homes, equipment procurement , and the financial support made available. Keir Starmer , the Leader of the Opposition, and Care Campaign for the Vulnerable both criticised

1898-561: The UK was not prepared for a pandemic), isolation, staff testing, the functioning of 111 services , the centralisation of decision-making (including tensions between the government and regional mayors) and the role of austerity in decision-making. In March 2021 polling, 47% of the British public supported an inquiry, with 35% neither supporting nor opposing or didn't know, and 18% opposed. Boris Johnson announced in May 2021 that an inquiry would take place, and start in spring 2022. He said

1971-487: The UK, the Planning Inspectorate , an agency of the Department for Communities and Local Government , routinely holds public inquiries into a range of major and lesser land use developments, including highways and other transport proposals. Advocacy groups and opposition political parties are likely to ask for public inquiries for all manner of issues. The government of the day typically only accedes to

2044-676: The United Kingdom government, authorities and NHS without their influence. In Exercise Cygnus, the Emergency Response Department was specifically employed within PHE. Its specialists assisted the health community by providing training and expert advice with regards to emergencies. It collaborated with several organisations such as the European Commission , European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and World Health Organization . Dame Sally Davies

2117-530: The United Kingdom response to COVID-19. In July 2020, a request under the Freedom of Information Act was filed by an anonymous citizen nicknamed "P Newton" to seek further transparency of Exercise Cygnus. His Freedom of Information request to Department of Health and Social Care was unanswered twice. It was subsequently rejected by the UK government under Section 35(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act on

2190-488: The United Kingdom, the term public inquiry, also known as a tribunal of inquiry, refers to either statutory or non-statutory inquiries that have been established either previously by the monarch or by government ministers of the United Kingdom , Scottish , Northern Irish and Welsh governments to investigate either specific, controversial events or policy proposals. Non-statutory public inquiries are often used in order to investigate controversial events of national concern,

2263-876: The advantage being that they are more flexible than the statutory inquiry as they do not need to follow the requirements of the Inquiries Act 2005 , The Inquiry Rules 2006 (UK, excluding Scotland) and The Inquiries (Scotland) Rules 2007. Statutory inquiries can be held as subject-specific public inquiries, however most are now held under the Inquiries Act 2005 which repealed the Tribunals of Inquiry (Evidence) Act 1921 . Statutory public inquiries, unlike non-statutory inquiries, have legal powers to compel witnesses. This list excludes Public Local Inquiries (which encompasses Planning Inquiries, Compulsory Purchase Order Inquiries, Listed Building Inquiries etc.) In Hong Kong,

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2336-697: The basis that full disclosure of results would affect the ongoing progress of policy making by ministers. In August 2020, Public Health England was placed under a new organisation, the National Institute for Health Protection . Following Exercise Cygnus and COVID-19, several health professionals working on epidemics and primary care have provided suggestions to help the UK manage pandemics more effectively. Areas of improvement identified include bridging disease communication by focussing on specific vulnerable demographic groups and relaying layman instructions to control transmission. Exercise Cygnus led to

2409-533: The budget for equipment. In 2016, she raised the need to adapt to an increasingly ageing population which will be more susceptible to disease and vulnerable to pandemics, and "welcomes" a larger budget on "public health and prevention fields". However, she understands "times of austerity" and the difficulties faced by the central government. Matt Hancock was the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care of United Kingdom (2018–2021). On 28 April 2020, Hancock

2482-463: The building" and that answering her questions was like "dodging stilettos". Cummings was asked if these statements were misogynistic , which he denied. In other messages Cummings called ministers "useless fuckpigs [sic]" , "cunts" and "morons". The Covid Inquiry was criticised by the director of the University of Oxford's Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine , Carl Heneghan , who gave evidence to

2555-559: The conclusions reached by Exercise Cygnus. There was criticism that no follow-up document was written detailing how to deal with an influenza pandemic after December 2016. In March 2020, the three government documents available for response to COVID-19 were those published in 2011 ("Influenza Pandemic Preparedness Strategy"), 2012 ("Health and Social Care Influenza Pandemic Preparedness and Response") and 2014 ("Pandemic Influenza Response Plan") respectively, with no revised report following Exercise Cygnus and no mention of ventilators. Despite

2628-476: The crisis, when there is the greatest demand for healthcare. At this stage, an estimated 50% of the population had been infected, with close to 400,000 deaths. The hypothetical situation was that the vaccine had been made and purchased but not yet delivered to the United Kingdom. Hospital and social care officials were to come up with emergency plans managing resource strain, while government officials were exposed to situations requiring quick decision-making. To make

2701-433: The date was chosen because of a possible winter surge in infections, but that preparatory work on the terms of reference would start earlier, as would choosing a chair. On 15 December 2021, Heather Hallett was announced as the chair of the inquiry. Unlike other public inquiries, a statutory public inquiry has the power to subpoena people and take evidence under oath. The inquiry will be the biggest ever such undertaking by

2774-484: The decision to omit Partygate from the terms. A former Children's Commissioner for England, Anne Longfield , called the lack of focus on children's experiences in lockdown a "shocking oversight". Public consultation on the terms ran from 11 March until 7 April and received over 20,000 responses. Hallett has said she would consider these responses and present her revised recommendations to Johnson in May 2022. Final terms of reference were published on 28 June 2022, allowing

2847-602: The development of a pandemic influenza draft legislation "Pandemic Influenza Draft Bill", a collaboration by Civil Contingencies Secretariat (CCS), Department of Health and Social Care and Devolved Administrations . This later formed the basis for further developed into the Coronavirus Act 2020 . Legislation easements drawn from Exercise Cygnus include emergency recruitment and registration of retired healthcare professionals and protection against clinical negligence action for health workers. The complete 57-page report

2920-480: The disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on ethnic minorities, as well as a review of the functioning of the National Health Service and its staff during the pandemic. Healthcare topics include supplies of personal protective equipment , the transfer of patients from hospitals to care homes , risk assessments (including failures to respond to warnings in 2017's Exercise Cygnus , which reported that

2993-542: The event of a no-deal Brexit . Former Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon told the inquiry that Scotland did not have a "set plan" to deal with a pandemic such as Covid 19. She also stated that the Scottish government was "not happy" that potential pandemic planning resources were reallocated to plan for a possible no-deal Brexit instead. Hearings for module two of the inquiry – Decision-making and Political Governance – began on 3 October 2023. Former Chief Adviser to

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3066-476: The event of an overwhelming pandemic. Following the UK's response to COVID-19 in 2020, criticism arose questioning whether the findings of Exercise Cygnus have been implemented. In June 2020, an enquiry by the House of Lords was conducted to investigate if follow-up actions had been executed as suggested. Baron Bethell raised several concerns including persistent lack of medical equipment in United Kingdom during

3139-465: The full report and other supporting documentation related to Exercise Cygnus. In November 2020, Liberal Democrat MP Tim Farron submitted a written question to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care asking whether the full findings of Exercise Cygnus will be published; no immediate answer was forthcoming. Moosa Qureshi is a National Health Service doctor campaigning for disclosure of

3212-484: The government had been threatened with legal action over demands to publish the results of the study. A version of the report, classified as "Official – Sensitive", was leaked and published (with redaction of some contact details) in The Observer ' s sister paper The Guardian on 7 May 2020. As of October 2020 , legal action is in progress to force the Department of Health and Social Care to publish

3285-471: The government must release the documents to the inquiry, and the government said it accepted the ruling. Public hearings for Module 1 – resilience and preparedness – began on 13 June 2023. Former prime minister David Cameron told the inquiry that his government had focussed too much on preparations for an influenza pandemic, and that there were failures to act on findings from the 2016 Exercise Alice simulation; he denied that austerity measures had weakened

3358-481: The government. The Cabinet Office launched legal action, a judicial review , on 1 June over their concerns that handing over all the material would compromise ministers' and other individuals' right to privacy. The legal action argued against the inquiry having "the power to compel production of documents and messages which are unambiguously irrelevant to the inquiry's work". On 6 July 2023, the High Court ruled that

3431-593: The group informed ministers that they were planning to seek judicial review by the High Court . Lawyers representing the group have acted in major public inquiries including into the Hillsborough , Grenfell Tower and Manchester Arena disasters. Medical professionals who supported an inquiry included Chaand Nagpaul , Donna Kinnair , Paul Nurse , and leading medical think tank the King's Fund . Unions such as

3504-447: The health sector, is considered. This would aid in managing essential services and operationalising increased health care demands with fewer obstacles. Greater flexibility is recommended especially in a pandemic when situations evolve quickly and decisions need to be made as soon as possible. Key suggestions were for rules to be more malleable and easily adapted to the circumstance at hand. The choices as to which legislation will be amended

3577-414: The health service. George Osborne, former chancellor , argued that austerity had left Britain better prepared, making money available for furlough and other programmes. Former Health Secretary Matt Hancock criticised the government's preparedness for a pandemic, saying it was too focused on handling the aftermath of a pandemic rather than preventing one, and that resources were prioritised on planning for

3650-423: The inquiry assumed that the correct policy was to impose more severe lockdown restrictions earlier. Simmons said that the Inquiry should answer whether lockdowns worked definitively, citing evidence given by Simon Stevens that expressed the same view. Public inquiry Typical events for a public inquiry are those that cause multiple deaths, such as public transport crashes or mass murders . In addition, in

3723-405: The inquiry include the UK's preparedness for the pandemic, the use of lockdowns and other non-pharmaceutical interventions , pandemic management in hospitals and care homes, equipment procurement , and the financial support made available. It covers the period up to and including the Inquiry being established on 28 June 2022, and England , Wales , Scotland and Northern Ireland . There is also

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3796-463: The inquiry to formally commence. Hallett expects public hearings to begin in 2023. The first preliminary public hearing took place on 4 October 2022. Public hearings are due to be held into 2026. The Inquiry is split into modules. As of October 2023, the first five modules had started (plus a sixth future module announced): The Inquiry asked for diaries, notebooks and WhatsApp messages by Johnson. The request included: Johnson had provided materials to

3869-425: The inquiry, for refusing to engage in the core issues of the pandemic and "silencing science" and being too concerned with the offensiveness of language in private messages. Heneghan criticised the inquiry for attempting to attack his credentials while ignoring previous publications, and ignoring generalist analysis which he said would have been useful during the pandemic. Heneghan said that the inquiry should consider

3942-520: The pandemic. Writing in the Financial Times , Camilla Cavendish , says that by June 2020 she had formed an opinion that the government needed a red team to challenge assumptions, she argues that such a team could have answered legitimate questions about whether lockdowns were working, the balance between the young and the old, and the accuracy of scientific models. Heneghan said that rather than assessing whether lockdowns were an effective policy

4015-488: The part of the relevant minister are less likely to be investigated by a public inquiry. Third, a public inquiry generally takes longer to report and costs more on account of its public nature. When a government refuses a public inquiry on some topic, it is usually on at least one of these grounds. The conclusions of the inquiry are delivered in the form of a written report, given first to the government, and soon after made public. Reports usually make recommendations to improve

4088-444: The quality of government or management of public organisations in the future. A 2016 study found that the reports of public inquiries are not effective in changing public opinion regarding the event in question. Empirical studies do not find support for the claim that appointing a public inquiry leads to a decline in media attention to the inquired issue. Public inquiry reports appear to enjoy public trust only when they are critical of

4161-620: The reports following Exercise Cygnus. In response to the UK government's refusal on the grounds of inciting public fear, Dr Qureshi pursued legal action under both the Freedom of Information Act and an application for Judicial Review. On 28 September 2020, the Information Commissioner's Office ordered the Department of Health and Social Care to respond to Dr Qureshi's Freedom of Information request, and Matt Hancock announced publication of "the report into Exercise Cygnus" on 20 October 2020. Following publication, and following

4234-434: The results of Exercise Cygnus following the 2020 COVID-19 outbreak. According to Dr Qureshi, who has experience treating leukemia patients severely impacted by COVID-19, healthcare should be built on transparency and collaborative peer review. In April 2020, he raised more than £46,000 through crowdjustice.com for this cause. Dr Qureshi, represented by UK solicitor Leigh Day , filed action against Matt Hancock for withholding

4307-439: The results of the simulation were "too terrifying" to be revealed. According to The Telegraph , the exercise led to assumptions that a " herd immunity " approach would be the best response to a similar epidemic. The New Statesman had been first to report on the results of Cygnus two weeks earlier. A partial report of findings was later released by British newspaper The Guardian , leading to public dissatisfaction on how it

4380-531: The side effects of the "Protect the NHS", messaging that Heneghan believes reduced care for diseases other than covid; whether the confinement of care-home residents was a good policy, which he believes was both ineffective and had immense human costs; the reliability of test-and-trace; and the accuracy and use of epidemiological modelling in decision making. Michael Simmons, writing in The Spectator , said that

4453-502: The situation more realistic, COBRA meetings were held between ministers and officials. Simulated news outlets and social media such as "WNN" and "Twister" were also employed to give fictitious updates. A government disclaimer on the UK pandemic preparedness website stated that Exercise Cygnus was not intended to manage future pandemics of different nature, or to pinpoint what measures to adopt to avoid widespread transmission. Jeremy Hunt , Secretary of State for Health and Social Care at

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4526-455: The three-day simulation, and their ability to cope under situations of high medical stress was tested. The exercise was named "Cygnus" as the theoretical H2N2 virus was nicknamed "swan 'flu" and said to originate from swans , the Latin name for which is Cygnus. In the scenario, the 950 participants from central and local government were placed in the seventh week of the pandemic – the peak of

4599-435: The time, recounts how he was confronted with a decision to close all the intensive care units and switch off the ventilators because redeploying the staff would save more lives - not a decision he felt a minister should be asked to make. Results from the exercise identified four main learning points and 22 further recommendations. In general, it showed that the pandemic would cause the country's health system to collapse from

4672-538: Was Chief Medical Officer (United Kingdom) and Chief Medical Advisor to the United Kingdom government (March 2011 – September 2019) at the time of the exercise. Additionally, she was on the World Health Organization executive board then (2014 - 2016). She previously raised concerns for the lack of medical resources, specifically ventilators and hospital beds. The Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt , and NHS chief executive Simon Stevens , had reduced

4745-486: Was a three-day simulation exercise carried out by the UK Government in October 2016 to estimate the impact of a hypothetical H2N2 influenza pandemic on the United Kingdom. It aimed to identify strengths and weaknesses within the United Kingdom health system and emergency response chain by putting it under significant strain, providing insight on the country's resilience and any future ameliorations required. It

4818-442: Was conducted by Public Health England representing the Department of Health and Social Care , as part of a project led by the "Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response Partnership Group". Twelve government departments across Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, as well as local resilience forums (LRFs) participated. More than 950 workers from those organisations, prisons and local or central government were involved during

4891-551: Was identified and understood as a possible limitation to Exercise Cygnus, and the role of public opinion on pandemic response still requires further investigation. It was stated that in reality, moral decisions, such as those involving mass burials or population triage, may differ in face of public reaction. Further work is required to understand public reaction, so that it can be factored into significant decisions and communication strategies, particularly for ethically charged scenarios. Research into how public perception and response to

4964-456: Was managed. In May 2020, when interviewed by The Guardian , Martin Green, chief executive of Care England, one of the United Kingdom's biggest private care home companies, said that the government did not previously alert private health sectors to the lack of capacity should a pandemic arise. A number of news reports criticised the government's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in the light of

5037-504: Was noted. Exercise Cygnus was centred around assumptions of public responses that have yet to be validated. Expectations of how the public will react was postulated based on the magnitude of "swan flu". This may not have been entirely representative of what would have happened in real life. For example, Exercise Cygnus did not involve live broadcasting or widespread coverage which typically characterises an actual pandemic. Hence, its reactions are based around theoretical public reaction. This

5110-474: Was questioned by British radio host Nick Ferrari regarding findings of Exercise Cygnus leaked to The Guardian . Responding, Hancock said officials informed him that "everything that was recommended has been done". In March 2020, according to The Sunday Times , Downing Street officials found follow-up planning from Exercise Cygnus lacking, with one stating that it "never went into the operational detail". In late April 2020, The Observer reported that

5183-580: Was released by the Department of Health and Social Care on 23 October 2020. The Telegraph raised doubts as to whether full implementation of improvements were conducted before COVID-19, as previously reassured. Six possible areas of contention were identified. Key complaints include: improper management of surge capacity, incomplete "silo planning between and within organisations", disorganised school closures, consistent lack of funding for care homes, inefficient public communication and lack of social distancing which were still unresolved during COVID-19. In

5256-426: Was sustainable in the case of a fast-moving pandemic, since experts would have to aid more than one SRG. The 22 further recommendations, listed per the report, include: Public Health England (PHE) was an executive agency within the Department of Health and Social Care whose goal was to "protect and improve the nation’s health and well-being, and reduce health inequalities". It had the autonomy to guide and help

5329-433: Was understood that up to half the population will be implicated should there be insufficient understanding of the severity of a pandemic during the response. Exercise Cygnus revealed the need to develop a "Pandemic Concept of Operations" to bridge communication between organisations. This aims to manage collective response strategically by delegating specific roles to each organisation and directing their interactions during

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