First Minister, Eluned Morgan MS
The Welsh Government welcomes today’s publication of the second report by the UK Covid-19 Public Inquiry, which examines the core decision-making of each of the four governments of the UK.
The pandemic had a profound impact on everyone in Wales. We recognise the immense loss and suffering experienced by bereaved families and all those whose lives were changed by Covid. Our thoughts remain with them.
Fourteen Welsh Government witnesses gave oral evidence over three weeks of the Module 2B hearings in Wales during February and March 2024. We submitted more than 70 witness statements and disclosed thousands of documents to the inquiry for this module.
The report describes in detail the pandemic response in Wales and across the UK. Publication of this extensive report represents a further important step towards understanding and learning lessons from the Welsh Government’s response, the UK Government and other devolved governments’ and other parts of the public sector.
We will carefully consider the inquiry’s findings and recommendations. In developing our response to the recommendations, we will continue to work with the UK and devolved governments as we have done in relation to the Module 1 report – I will provide a further update on progress in relation to the Module 1 recommendations in January 2026.
I will make an oral statement on the Module 2ABC report in the Senedd on 25th November 2025.
I would like to thank the inquiry chair, Baroness Hallett, and her team for their work and for today’s report. The Welsh Government has engaged positively and openly with the inquiry and will continue to do so as its evidence-gathering phase continues.