Covid classes ‘should be realized’ after final goodbyes on iPads and funerals denied

Britain must be prepared for the next pandemic after failures led to thousands of Covid deaths, a minister has said.

The Covid Inquiry found the Government “failed” its citizens due to being ill-prepared for the outbreak that should have been “foreseeable”. In a moving statement to the Commons, Cabinet Minister Pat McFadden said the first report from the Covid-19 inquiry paints a “stark” underlying picture of the state of the UK’s public services.

He pledged to lead a review of national resilience “against the range of risks that the UK faces” and said Friday’s global IT outage was a reminder of the importance of learning the lessons from the pandemic. The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster recounted the grief and loss experienced during the period with “heartbreaking last goodbyes” over phones and iPads and families denied proper funerals.

He acknowledged the burden on key workers, a rise in domestic abuse during lockdowns and the devastating impact on kids of schools being closed. “Before the pandemic began our public services were already stretched to their limit during what should have been normal times. This was especially true of the NHS,” he said. “A nation can only be as resilient as the foundational strength of its infrastructure and public services.

“So as I stand here today, with eight million people on NHS waiting lists, prisons overflowing, councils pushed to the brink and public services in a worse position than they were even in 2020. We must ensure that we are prepared.” Mr McFadden said ministers will work with devolved leaders to strengthen local services as well as play a “full part” in international efforts to improve pandemic preparedness, from disease surveillance and vaccine development.

“The Government will carefully consider all the findings and recommendations, including considering any findings from the Grenfell inquiry that also have a bearing on resilience planning,” Mr McFadden said. “We will respond in full within six months.”