uk covid-19 inquiry uk covid-19 inquiry the uk covid-19 inquiry is an independent public inquiry into the british government's handling of the covid-19 pandemic in the united kingdom. public hearings are expected to begin in 2023. boris johnson announced the inquiry on 12 may 2021, to start in spring 2022. he said the date was chosen because of a possible winter surge in infections, but that preparatory work on the terms of reference would start earlier, as would choosing a chair. in december 2021, heather hallett, baroness hallett was announced as the chair of the inquiry. part of a series on thecovid-19 pandemicin the united kingdom, british overseas territories and crown dependencies history responses legislation statistics (part of the global covid-19 pandemic) locations london countries england scotland wales northern ireland crown dependencies guernsey isle of man jersey british overseas territories anguilla akrotiri and dhekelia bermuda british indian ocean territory british virgin islands cayman islands falkland islands gibraltar montserrat saint helena, ascension and tristan da cunha turks and caicos islands pitcairn islands british overseas territories without confirmed cases british antarctic territory south georgia and the south sandwich islands timelines united kingdom january-june 2020 july–december 2020 january-june 2021 july–december 2021 january-june 2022 july-december 2022 2023 england january-june 2020 july–december 2020 2021 2022 scotland 2020 2021 2022 wales 2020 2021 2022 northern ireland 2020 2021 2022 key topics healthcare vaccination temporary hospitals covid passports responses government response contract controversies lockdown public inquiry contact tracing military (domestic, overseas) impacts society economy education politics retail covid-19 portal category the draft terms of the inquiry include the uk's preparedness for the pandemic, the use of lockdowns and other non-pharmaceutical interventions, pandemic management in hospitals and care homes, equipment procurement, and the financial support made available. it will cover the period up to and including the inquiry being established on 28 june 2022, and england, wales, scotland and northern ireland. there had been prior proposals to launch a public inquiry from senior doctors, the bmj, government scientific advisers, and ethnic minority group leaders. these proposals included looking into lockdown tactics, the "test, track and trace" service, and deaths related to the covid-19 pandemic in the united kingdom. background main article: british government response to the covid-19 pandemic