Cultural organisations give evidence in Covid inquiry

Cultural organisations, including Arts Council England and Music Venue Trust, are set to give evidence in a series of roundtable sessions as part of the UK Covid-19 inquiry.

The inquiry, which launched in 2022, is an independent assessment into the UK’s response to and the impact of the Covid pandemic. It is now beginning its tenth and final investigation, titled Impact on Society.

Around 70 organisations, including representatives from the arts and culture sector, will take part in the remaining five themed roundtable sessions, scheduled over the next five weeks. Among the areas of discussion will be the impact of closures and restrictions on museums, theatres and other cultural institutions.

Representatives from prisons, other places of detention, community sport and leisure facilities and housing and homelessness organisations will also take part, giving evidence on how the pandemic impacted their operations.

Each roundtable will result in a summary report to be provided to the inquiry’s chair, Baroness Hallett, ahead of publication on the inquiry website. These reports, along with other evidence collected, will help inform Hallett’s findings and recommendations.

“We are facilitating discussions around some of the ways in which communities and sectors of the economy were impacted by the pandemic,” said inquiry secretary Ben Connah.

“These roundtables are a crucial and significant part of our Module 10 investigation and ongoing preparations for the inquiry’s final hearings in early 2026.”