The impact of austerity upon resilience and preparedness becomes a major focus of Module 1 – UK Covid-19 Inquiry
Public hearings in Module 1 of the UK Covid-19 inquiry started on Tuesday 13th June, with opening statements from counsel to the inquiry and core participants. Module 1 is entitled ‘Resilience and preparedness’ and is designated to look into the preparedness for the pandemic. It assesses if the pandemic was properly planned for and whether the UK was adequately ready for that eventuality.
The Trades Union Congress (‘TUC’) is a core participant in Module 1. The aim of the Trades Union Congress in Module 1, is to ensure that the evidence put before the Inquiry achieves the following aims: explores the impact of austerity upon resilience and preparedness; documents the impact of Covid-19 upon workers and, in particular, the disproportionate impact upon those in elementary occupations and from black and minority ethnic backgrounds; and highlights the range of sectors impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, to guard against too strong a focus on the healthcare sector.
Sam Jacobs is senior junior counsel on the TUC team, alongside Ruby Peacock who is junior counsel. They are instructed by Gerard Stilliard and Harry Thompson, of Thompsons Solicitors.
During opening statements, the impact of austerity was front and centre.
Hugo Keith KC, counsel to the inquiry, said:
“As for wealth, it is self-evident that the capacity of any country's public health care and social care systems to be able to cope with a pandemic is constrained by funding, and therefore you need to enquire how well funded were the United Kingdom's health structures. To what degree have our public services, especially those of health and social care, suffered from underinvestment? How well resourced were the United Kingdom's public health structures? My Lady, these questions must be asked. This is not because it lies in the power of your Inquiry to resolve them. The Inquiry plainly cannot of itself bring about general improvements in health, social care or public services, let alone direct that they be made. The questions must be asked because I have no doubt that if you conclude that, as a country, we were insufficiently resilient and that, in future, different political and financial choices may have to be made in order to render us better able to withstand a system shock, you will want to say so.”
Sam Jacobs, delivering the TUC’s opening statement, said it was a “simple but inescapable truth that public services stretched to breaking point by over a decade of budget cuts will be severely impaired in their ability to cope with the shock of a national emergency, such as a pandemic.”
Indeed, seven core participants who delivered oral opening statements mentioned underfunding of public services prior to the Covid-19 pandemic as a factor affecting resilience and preparedness. In addition, Fiona Scolding KC, delivering the opening statement for the Department of Health and Social Care stated:
“[T]he underlying resilience of the health and social care system really matters, because a strong system of public health and social care is needed to fight future risks effectively. Indeed, a resilient system, limited health inequalities, and a generally healthy population will be more likely to be able to cope with shocks of any kind. Levels of core capacity for day-to-day health and care services which must be resilient need to include specialist laboratories which can be expanded to meet demand rapidly, NHS general, critical and intensive care beds, with bed occupancy levels at a sustainable level, and appropriate and safe staffing.”
Media coverage of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry demonstrates the important impact which the TUC is having in Module 1:
Guardian
‘A bowl of spaghetti’: Covid inquiry opens with flowchart on UK’s pandemic planning
It looked “much more like a bowl of spaghetti than a clear and coordinated framework for a cogent national response”, the lawyer for the Trades Union Congress remarked to the inquiry chair, Heather Hallett. It was hard to disagree, and it is now for Lady Hallett to untangle the mess.
Guardian
Sam Jacobs, who represents the TUC, is making his opening statement now. He says the TUC wants the current module, looking at preparedness, to look at “the legacy of austerity”. It is “a simple but inescapable truth that public services stretched to breaking point by over a decade of budget cuts will be severely impaired in their ability to cope with the shock of a national emergency, such as a pandemic”, he says.
Sun
Covid inquiry's blame-game will let Britain down – The Sun says…
The TUC turned up to attack "corrosive" Government infighting. The Tory-hating BMA doctors' union piled in. Even Cameron era "austerity" is in the dock.
Independent
Brexit ‘crowded out’ plans for pandemic, inquiry told
The TUC has said that their austerity cuts left the NHS and the social care sector “dangerously understaffed”.
Daily Star
We were totally unready for Covid
Sam Jacobs, from the TUC, said the Cabinet Office's refusal to hand over requested documents "smacks of having something to hide".
Daily Mirror
Government didn't think through the impact of lockdowns, Covid inquiry is told
The TUC and Labour have said services were hollowed out by Tory austerity, leaving the NHS exposed to Covid… Sam Jacobs, representing the TUC, warned the Government’s attempts to block disclosure of WhatsApps belonging to ex-PM Boris Johnson and other key figures was corrosive. He urged No10 to engage properly with the inquiry to avoid thousands of deaths in a future pandemic.
Daily Mirror
Covid Inquiry: 5 key things from Day 1 of evidence as bereaved families share heartbreak
Sam Jacobs, a lawyer representing the Trades Union Congress, said the Government's decision to mount a legal challenge to block disclosure of messages from Boris Johnson and top ministers "smacks of having something to hide".
Daily Telegraph
Brexit hindered pandemic response, Covid inquiry told
Sam Jacobs, a lawyer representing the Trades Union Congress, said its position “smacks of having something to hide” and warned the “infighting” between Boris Johnson and the Government “jars with the terrible losses” suffered during the pandemic.
Guardian
UK short-term borrowing costs surge above Truss-era highs; US inflation falls to 4% – as it happened
The TUC’s Nowak is urging the government to resolve the current public sector pay disputes, and lift the minimum wage to help low earners through the cost of living squeeze. “It’s no wonder workers are reluctantly taking strike action to defend their living standards. They’ve been backed into a corner and pushed to breaking point. Ministers need to get round the table and resolve all of the current pay disputes. People need money in their pockets now. The government must give public sector workers a real pay rise, boost the minimum wage to £15 per hour, and end their draconian attack on the right to strike in the Strikes Bill.”
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