The first report by the UK Covid-19 inquiry, published in July, confirmed the impact of austerity on pandemic preparedness.
The inquiry is examining the state of the UK’s structures and procedures to plan for and respond to a pandemic.
Inquiry chair Baroness Hallett concluded that: “The UK entered the pandemic with its public services depleted, health improvement stalled, health inequalities increased, and health among the poorest people in a state of decline.”
The report highlights the lack of resilience in public services caused by underfunding, with staff shortages and crumbling infrastructure.
The Trades Union Congress is a core participant of the inquiry.
Hallet stated that “money spent on systems for our protection is vital and will be vastly outweighed by the cost of not doing so.”
Since 2008, the Cabinet Office has published the National Risk Register, which sets out the range of risks that may affect the UK.
In 2008, out of the 12 main risks assessed, an influenza pandemic was assessed as having the largest relative impact and fifth greatest likelihood.
Despite this, the FBU is not aware of any publication by ministers or chief fire officers on pandemics published in the decade before the Covid-19 pandemic.
There was no advisory body where emergency preparedness could be discussed with representatives of the workforce.
Firefighters assisted with the pandemic response, delivering PPE and medicine, driving ambulances, and even helping move the bodies of the deceased.
In March 2020, the FBU negotiated an agreement to ensure firefighters could volunteer with safety protocols in place. The National Fire Chiefs Council and employers later walked away from this agreement.
The union has raised serious concerns about lack of resilience, raising the alarm in a letter to the House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee inquiry on emergency preparedness in April 2020.
The UK government and devolved governments have been urged to implement promptly the 10 recommendations of the report, including a fundamental reform of the UK government and devolved nations’ preparedness for civil emergencies.
The FBU has argued that the failure to prepare and the first year of the pandemic underline the need for a statutory body to advise ministers in Westminster
