Written statement: UK COVID-19 Inquiry response costs for Quarter 4 25/26 - July 16

Minister for the Cabinet Office (Nick Thomas-Symonds): The UK COVID-19 Inquiry is examining the UK's response to and impact of the pandemic. The government is fully committed to supporting the work of the COVID-19 Inquiry and to learning lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure the UK is better prepared for a future pandemic.

The government recognises the unprecedented and wholly exceptional circumstances of the pandemic. The Inquiry is therefore unprecedented in its scope, complexity and profile.

The independent UK COVID-19 Inquiry publishes its own running costs quarterly. The Chair is under a statutory obligation to avoid unnecessary costs in the Inquiry's work - and she has been clear as to her intention to complete her work as quickly and efficiently as possible.

I would like to update the House on the costs to the UK Government associated with responding to the UK COVID-19 Inquiry.

Figures provided are based upon a selection of the most relevant departments and are not based on a complete set of departmental figures, and different departments organise their response teams in different ways, according to business need. As such, these are not precise figures for accounting purposes. Ensuring a comprehensive and timely response to the Inquiry requires significant input from a number of key government departments, including, but not limited to, the Cabinet Office, the Department of Health and Social Care, the UK Health Security Agency, the Home Office and HM Treasury, many of which are supported by the Government Legal Department. While every effort has been made to ensure a robust methodology, complexities remain in trying to quantify the time and costs dedicated to the Inquiry alone.

It should be noted that alongside full time resource within departments, Inquiry response teams draw on expertise from across their organisations. These costs, including those associated with staff taking time to provide written or oral evidence, are not included in the costs below.

Breakdown of Staff & Costs 2025/26

The government's response to the UK COVID-19 Inquiry is led by Inquiry Response Units across departments. These associated staff costs for Q4 2025/26 are below and include retrospective adjustments for Q1-3.

• Q4 number of UK COVID-19 Inquiry Response Unit staff: 111 Full Time Equivalents

• Q4 cost of UK COVID-19 Inquiry Response Unit staff: £2,345,000 (including contingent labour costs)

• Financial year 2025/26 (Q1 + Q2 + Q3 + Q4), total cost of UK COVID-19 Inquiry Response Unit staff: £15,145,000 (including contingent labour costs, and retrospective adjustments for Q1-3).

Table: Breakdown of Staff & Costs 2025/26

Inquiry Response Unit Legal Costs 2025/26

Inquiry Response Units across government departments are supported by the Government Legal Department, co-partnering firms of solicitors, and legal counsel. These associated legal costs (excluding internal departmental advisory legal costs) for Q4 2025/26 are below and include retrospective adjustments for Q1-3.

• Q4 legal costs: £1,226,000

• Financial year 2025/26 (Q1 + Q2 + Q3 + Q4), total legal costs: £16,346,000 (including retrospective adjustments for Q1-3)

Table: Inquiry Response Unit Legal Costs 2025/26