Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what preparations his Department has made for the holding of the public inquiry into the Government's handling of the covid-19 outbreak; and what progress the Government has made towards holding that inquiry in Spring 2022 since that inquiry was announced on 12 May 2021.

The public inquiry into COVID-19 has not yet been set up and its terms of reference are not yet confirmed. The Department is undertaking the appropriate preparatory work ahead of the terms of reference for the inquiry being announced, for example on planning, staffing, and how the Department will work with other relevant partner organisations within the health and social care sector.