Covid-19 Inquiry: Module 6 Report

Tuesday 20th October 2026 Written Statements

[The Prime Minister (Andy Burnham)]

The chair of the UK covid-19 inquiry has today published the inquiry’s module 6 report, which examined the impact of the pandemic on the publicly and privately funded adult social care sector across the four nations of the UK. I have laid a copy of the report before both Houses of Parliament.

The chair highlights the “devastating impact that Covid-19 had on people receiving and providing care and their loved ones”, including the “immense distress and harm” caused by visiting restrictions. She recognises the extraordinary lengths that care workers and unpaid carers went to in providing care during the pandemic.

I recognise the pain and suffering caused by the pandemic and the lasting impact it continues to have on many people. I am acutely aware of the experiences of people receiving and providing care during the pandemic, and the impact on their wellbeing, dignity and independence, as well as the time being separated from their loved ones. I pay tribute to family and friends who provided care and support, and to the dedication, compassion and professionalism shown by staff and volunteers working across adult social care, who supported and protected some of the most vulnerable people in exceptionally difficult circumstances.

The chair’s report has noted “that for too long the adult social care sector has been undervalued and under-recognised” and entered the pandemic in a fragile state with long-standing workforce shortages, financial pressures and limited pandemic preparedness planning. She concludes that the protections put in place for people receiving care and those supporting them came too late, highlighting weaknesses in testing, isolation and discharge arrangements, PPE availability, guidance, visiting restrictions and data collection. She recommends strengthening pandemic preparedness across adult social care through clearer planning, improved workforce support, more robust inspection and oversight and data collection, and better arrangements for isolation, visiting and end-of-life care.

The Government are committed to learning the lessons from the inquiry and ensuring that the social care sector is prepared for a future pandemic. We will consider carefully the findings and recommendations of the report and respond in due course. We will use these findings to continue development of our adult social care pandemic action plan, and we will also respond to Baroness Casey’s review when it is published.

I have set out my vision for a national care service. This will be person-centred, highly integrated with health services and preventative in its character, helping people lead as independent and fulfilling lives as possible and providing dignity and peace of mind. We are delivering reform through significant additional investment in adult social care, including introducing a fair pay agreement for care workers and developing a new workforce action plan. We are also appointing a champion for unpaid carers, developing neighbourhood health services, and taking immediate action on adult safeguarding, dementia and motor neurone disease.

I would like to thank Baroness Hallet and her team for their thorough work on this report.

[HCWS395]