Health and Social Care Committee and Science and Technology Committee Transcript: Coronavirus: lessons learnt - Nov 24

The Health and Social Care Committee and Science and Technology Committee are holding a joint inquiry into lessons to be learned from the response to the coronavirus pandemic so far.

The two Select Committees will jointly conduct evidence sessions examining the impact and effectiveness of action taken by government and the advice it has received. Each Committee will draw on specialist expertise and call witnesses to consider a range of issues including:

• the deployment of non-pharmaceutical interventions like lockdown and social distancing rules to manage the pandemic;

• the impact on the social care sector;

• the impact on BAME communities and other at-risk groups;

• testing and contact tracing;

• modelling and the use of statistics;

• Government communications and public health messaging;

• the UK’s prior preparedness for a pandemic; and

• the development of treatments and vaccines.

Witnesses:

Professor Devi Sridhar, Chair of Global Public Health, University of Edinburgh; and Alex Thomas, Programme Director, Institute for Government.

Rt Hon Matt Hancock MP, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care; Jenny Harries, Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England, Department of Health and Social Care; and Clara Swinson, Director General for Global and Public Health, Department of Health and Social Care.