Module 2 Report – Easy Read

Module 2: Decision Making

Report and Recommendations November 2025

Covid-19 is a virus.

It suddenly appeared in the UK in 2020. It spread very quickly.

Aeth pobl ar draws y byd yn sâl. Bu farw llawer o bobl. Golygai hyn ei fod yn cael ei alw yn a pandemic.

The 4 governments of the UK had to make big decisions about how to protect people.

• Llywodraeth y DU
• Llywodraeth Cymru
• Llywodraeth yr Alban
• Gweithrediaeth Gogledd Iwerddon

The Inquiry is finding out what happened during the pandemic.

This will help people to make better decisions in the future.

The Inquiry has hearings. At a hearing, we listen to people like politicians, doctors and scientists.

After the hearings, the Chair, Baroness Hallett, produces reports.

This is an Easy Read version of the Inquiry’s 2nd report.

The full report has a lot more information.

There are more versions in accessible formats and languages.

You can get all the reports from the Inquiry website:

https://covid19.public-inquiry.uk/reports/

Modiwl 2 is about decisions that were made by the 4 governments during the pandemic.

We heard about:

• the decisions that were made
• who made the decisions

• how and when they made the decisions

• how governments communicated with each other and the public

When the pandemic started

• Governments were too slow to make decisions.

• They were not well-prepared.

The first lockdown

• Staying away from others and giving people extra space should have started sooner.
• We might have been able to avoid the lockdown on 23 March 2020.

Ending the first lockdown

• None of the 4 governments had a plan about how to end the lockdown.

• Lockdown in England ended more quickly than in the other 3 nations.
• Governments did not plan for the 2nd rise in infections.

Autumn 2020

• The number of people getting ill increased very fast.

• Scotland acted quickly. They told people how to stop spreading the virus. This was good.

• The other 3 governments did not act quickly.

• The restrictions they used were not enough to stop the virus.

• At the end of 2020, a new type of Covid-19 virus called Alpha appeared.
• All 4 governments did not see how serious the Alpha virus was.

• They did not do anything until it was too late.

Vaccinations

• The UK was the first country in the world to give people vaccinations.

New types of virus

• 2 new types of Covid-19 started to spread: Delta and Omicron.

• Governments delayed the end of lockdowns, to give the vaccines time to make a difference.

• Even though people were having vaccinations, the virus still spread, and thousands more people died.

These are things governments must do to protect people in the future.

1. Think about how your decisions will affect vulnerable people.

Vulnerable means people who are most likely to be harmed. For example, people who are very young, very old or disabled.

2. Invite more experts to join SAGE.

SAGE is the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies. They give advice to governments.

3. Improve how decisions are made.

Be clear about who makes decisions, and how they make them.

4. Communicate clearly with the public.

Make it easy for everyone to understand the rules.

Laws and other rules should be shared in accessible formats.

5. Make sure that MPs are involved during emergencies.

MPs are Members of Parliament who speak up about the needs of people in their area.

MPs should be involved to help check the work of the 4 governments.

6. The 4 governments must find better ways to communicate with each other during an emergency.

This will help to make rules that are the same across the UK.

If the rules need to be different, the governments should tell people why.

All these recommendations are designed to work well together and they should happen alongside the recommendations from the Inquiry’s 1st report.

The report and recommendations for Module 1 have already been published.
It looked at how prepared we were for a pandemic.

Mae’r Farwnes Hallett yn disgwyl hynny I gyd o'r argymhellion yn digwydd.

Bydd yr Ymchwiliad yn darganfod a yw pethau'n newid ai peidio.

Bydd mwy o adroddiadau am:

• healthcare
• vaccines and treatments

• things that were bought – like medical equipment and software
• test, trace and isolate

• social care
• children and young people

• how the 4 governments spent money
• how it affected the whole population

If you want to find out more, please go to this website                  

https://covid19.public-inquiry.uk/reports/

Diolch am ddarllen ein hadroddiad.