Chapter 11: Government decision-making

Recommendation 9: Delegated powers in Northern Ireland in an emergency

¶The Northern Ireland Executive and UK government (in consultation with the Irish government where necessary) should review the structures and delegated powers of government in Northern Ireland to consider:

the empowerment of the First Minister and deputy First Minister jointly to direct the work of other ministers and departments during an emergency;
the empowerment of the Head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service in relation to the allocation of civil servants to departments or to civil contingency structures during an emergency; and
how decisions that would usually be subject to ministerial approval would be taken should an emergency occur during the suspension of power-sharing arrangements.

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Recommendation 10: Civil emergency decision-making structures

¶The UK government and devolved administrations should set out in future pandemic preparedness strategies (see the Inquiry's Module 1 Report, Recommendation 4) how decision-making will work in a future pandemic. This should include provision for COBR to be used as the initial response structure and set out how the UK government and devolved administrations will transition from managing a pandemic through COBR to managing it through separate arrangements in each nation when it becomes clear that the emergency will be longer-term. It should include provision for longer-term decision-making structures in the UK government which consist of:

a strategy group to set the overall approach to each stage of the pandemic and take decisions on major interventions (eg entering and exiting lockdown); and
an operational group to take decisions on the implementation of the agreed strategy throughout the pandemic.

¶The design of these structures should include an outline of decision-making procedures for each group. The strategy should make express provision for the involvement of the UK Cabinet in the decision-making of the strategy and operational groups. It should also provide that longer-term decision-making should be conducted primarily by the UK, Scottish and Welsh Cabinets and the Northern Ireland Executive. Decision-making groups in each nation should include a minister with responsibility for representing the interests of vulnerable groups. In the UK government, the Minister for Women and Equalities may be the most appropriate minister in this regard.

Recommendation 11: Contingency arrangements for key individuals

¶The UK government and devolved administrations should each establish formal arrangements for covering the roles of Prime Minister and First Minister (and in Northern Ireland, deputy First Minister) as applicable during a whole-system civil emergency, should the incumbent be unable to undertake their duties for any reason.

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Recommendation 12: Taskforces

¶The response to a future whole-system civil emergency should be coordinated via central taskforces in each of the UK, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, with responsibility for the commissioning and synthesis of advice, coordination of a single data picture and facilitation of decision-making processes. In preparation, the UK government and devolved administrations should each design the operating procedures for these taskforces, including, but not limited to, identifying the key roles needed to run the taskforces and how those roles would be appointed. The UK government should also identify the role of its taskforce in supporting decision-making procedures within the strategy and operational decision-making structures. These arrangements should be incorporated into future pandemic preparedness strategies (see the Inquiry's Module 1 Report, Recommendation 4).

Recommendation 13: Amendment of the Ministerial Code in Northern Ireland

¶The Executive Office should amend the Ministerial Code to impose a duty of confidentiality on ministers that prohibits the disclosure of the individual views of ministers expressed during meetings of the Northern Ireland Executive Committee.

Chapter 12: Public health communications

Recommendation 14: Plans for accessible communications

¶The UK government and devolved administrations should each develop action plans for how government communications will be made more accessible during a pandemic. As a minimum, these should include making provision for the translation of government press conferences into British Sign Language (and Irish Sign Language in Northern Ireland) and the translation of key announcements into the most frequently spoken languages in the UK.

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Chapter 13: Legislation and enforcement

Recommendation 15: Scrutiny of emergency powers

¶The UK government and devolved administrations should ensure that the draft affirmative procedure is the standard process for enacting substantial and wide-ranging powers in a civil emergency, such as a pandemic, under primary public health legislation. Any departure from this procedure should be the exception, with clear criteria and safeguards in place to prevent the bypassing of parliamentary scrutiny. These safeguards should include:

'sunset clauses' for regulations made using the made affirmative procedure, specifying a clear expiration date, typically within two months; and
a duty on ministers to report to their respective legislatures every two months on the exercise of emergency powers.

Recommendation 16: Review the applicability of the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 for future civil emergencies

¶The UK government should undertake a review of the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 to assess its potential role in managing future civil emergencies, including pandemics, and whether it could be employed as an interim emergency framework until more specific legislation with appropriate parliamentary safeguards is passed. The review should:

examine the conditions under which the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 may be invoked in a public health emergency;
consider any adjustments to the Act's safeguards, such as the triple lock test or time limits, that would make it more adaptable to pandemics; and
produce clear guidance on the Act's application for use in civil emergencies, including pandemics, to support its use as an emergency measure in advance of specific legislation – such as a dedicated pandemic bill – being passed.

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Recommendation 17: A central repository for restrictions and guidance

¶The UK government, Scottish Government, Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Executive should develop an online portal for use in future civil emergencies, where members of the public can access information on the legal restrictions that apply in their area and any associated guidance. This portal should be easily accessible and its content should be written in straightforward and unambiguous language.

Chapter 14: Intergovernmental working

Recommendation 18: Attendance at meetings of COBR by representatives of the devolved administrations

¶The UK government should invite the devolved administrations, as a matter of standard practice, to nominate relevant ministers and officials to attend COBR meetings in the event of relevant whole-system civil emergencies that have the potential to have UK-wide effects.

Recommendation 19: Intergovernmental structure and relations

¶While intergovernmental relations should be facilitated through COBR in the initial months of any future pandemic, the UK government and devolved administrations should ensure that a specific four-nations structure, concerning pandemic response, is stood up at the same time as the transition away from COBR to nation-specific decision-making structures. This should meet regularly during a pandemic and be attended by all heads of government. Arrangements for these four-nations meetings should be incorporated into future pandemic preparedness strategies (see the Inquiry's Module 1 Report, Recommendation 4).

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Notes not linked in the text

These notes appear in the source but the pipeline could not place their reference in the body. They are listed here so nothing is lost.

⁵⁹ Coronavirus Act 2020, Schedule 16 (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2020/7/schedule/16)
⁶⁴ INQ000183934_0002-0003 para 3; INQ000255836_0214 para 721(f); INQ000259848_0009 para 16(e)
⁶⁵ INQ000250229_0035-0036 para 134