Covid-19 Inquiry: Module 6 public hearings begin on adult social care sector
27 June 2025
Garden Court North’s Covid Inquiry team including Pete Weatherby KC (pictured) has represented the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice throughout the public inquiry. Credit: Covid-19 Inquiry / YouTube.
On Monday (30 June 2025), public hearings will begin for Module 6 of the Covid-19 Inquiry, investigating the pandemic’s disproportionate impact on the adult social care sector across the UK.
Hearings will take place until Thursday 31 July at Dorland House, London, examining how UK Government decisions affected domiciliary care providers, care homes, and the vulnerable residents they serve.
On Wednesday (2 July), Former Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Matt Hancock will be called as a witness for a full day of questioning.
For Module 6, Garden Court North’s Covid Inquiry team comprises Pete Weatherby KC, Anna Morris KC, Kate Stone, Ciara Bartlam, Hamish McCallum and Lily Lewis, who will ensure equal scrutiny is paid to both care homes and domiciliary care providers.
Pete Weatherby KC will be delivering the opening submission on behalf of UK Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice (UK CBFFJ) on Monday, and will be asking questions of Mr Hancock on Wednesday.
As core participants in Module 6, the Homecare Association, National Care Forum, and Care England will play pivotal roles in the proceedings, alongside other major stakeholders including the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS), the Local Government Association (LGA), and the Care Quality Commission.
Module 6: The issues at hand
When the Covid-19 pandemic hit in early 2020, hospital patients were rapidly discharged and placed into adult care and residential homes.
The Government’s decision intended to free up beds and prevent the NHS from becoming overwhelmed – without a policy in place requiring patients to be tested before admission.
There was also no policy requiring asymptomatic Covid-19 patients to isolate until mid-April, despite growing awareness of the risk of asymptomatic Covid-19 contagion.
Module 6 will also consider how the pandemic was managed in care and residential homes, including infection prevention and control measures, testing for the virus, the availability and adequacy of personal protective equipment (PPE), and the restrictions on access to such locations by healthcare professionals and loved ones.
Garden Court North’s Covid Inquiry Team for Module 6 was instructed by Nicola Brook of Broudie Jackson Canter to represent UK CBFFJ.
Nicola Brook described Mr Hancock’s appearance as a “seminal moment of the Covid Inquiry that many of our clients have been waiting for”.
“While Mr Hancock has given evidence to the inquiry before, this is the first time that he has been called early in a module, meaning he won’t be able to simply respond to others’ evidence”, she told The Independent.
“I only hope that he tells the truth about what he knew about the decision to discharge Covid-infected patients into care homes, which was the biggest scandal of the whole pandemic. Only then will our clients be able to get some form of closure.”
The Covid-19 Inquiry’s ten modules are scheduled in an achronological order. Module 7, which investigated the ‘Test, Trace and Isolate’ programmes, concluded on 30 May 2025.
Additional media
UK Covid-19 Inquiry – Module 6 timetable
The Independent – Matt Hancock back at Covid inquiry for probe into pandemic impact on care homes
The Carer – Major Covid-19 Inquiry to Scrutinise Care Sector Response
For further information, please contact Alex Blair, Communications Manager at Garden Court North Chambers: ablair@gcnchambers.co.uk
