The Scottish government failed to effectively consult with those most likely to be affected by Covid-19 during its pandemic decision-making, the UK’s Covid-19 inquiry is set to hear.

Jamie Dawson KC, counsel to the inquiry, said evidence will be heard in the coming weeks that suggests the needs of certain groups in Scotland – including people with disabilities, the elderly and ethnic minorities – were overlooked by ministers in Holyrood.

Dawson made the comments in his opening statement on the first day of module 2A, which will examine decisions taken by the Scottish government to limit the spread of the virus.

The evidence suggests the disproportionate impact of Covid restrictions, which in some cases interrupted regular social and medical support and care, were not fully considered, he continued. This is despite many campaign and advocacy organisations having members on Scottish government advisory or expert committees.

As of December 2023, there had been 18,226 deaths in Scotland where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate. Up until the end of 2021, people in the most deprived areas of Scotland were two-and-a-half times more likely to die from the virus than those in the least deprived areas.

The hearing opened with a video featuring people in Scotland who have lost loved ones, are living with long Covid, or whose health has been otherwise adversely affected by the virus, who explained the impact the pandemic has had on them.

“My perception was that they thought we were carrying the virus, because we had dirty wheels, for example,” said Idrees, who has disabilities. “Trying to convince the general public that we’re not the problem is the biggest impact that it had on me.”

“There was no provision for people with specialist needs, for disabled people,” said James, whose father became disabled when his hip replacement was delayed owing to the pandemic.

“Nobody was thinking holistically about people in specific situations (...) or with conditions and how that was going to affect their treatment or the quality of their life thereafter.”

More than 28,000 messages from senior ministers and people in government advisory roles – including those sent in around 85 group chats used by members of the Scottish government – have been shared with the inquiry.

A “consistent theme” of the module will be whether or not the government adequately communicated Covid-19 guidance, and the reasons behind it, to at-risk and vulnerable people in Scotland, Dawson said.

He suggested the needs of these groups may not have been properly understood at the outset of the pandemic, adding that voluntary and charitable organisations were relied upon to inform the government of such needs.

The module will also consider how the Scottish government worked with experts and sub-groups intended to represent the views and needs of vulnerable groups.

BEMIS, a Scottish charity for the black and ethnic minority voluntary sector, has found that during the pandemic, the Scottish government’s expert advisory group on ethnicity “struggled to reach an adequate definition of ethnic minority and was overly dominated by academic views”, said Dawson.

Relations with Westminster

Several organisations have suggested the devolution settlement and the need for funding to come from the UK Treasury may have led to “a lack of ability to get action” in Scotland’s social care sector during the pandemic, Dawson said.

He described the Scottish government as adopting a “more autonomous approach” in the later stages of the pandemic. At the end of 2021, for example, its guidance on gatherings and indoor events differed from the official advice issued in other parts of the UK.

The module will also ask if the Scottish government should have done more to influence decision-makers “in key positions within the UK government, in the best interests of the people of Scotland”.

“Had the Scottish government taken a different approach, it may have been able in these early months to alter the course of the pandemic significantly,” Dawson said.

He added that the module would also question whether the Scottish government should have paid more attention to advice from the UK government, COBRA and SAGE (the UK’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies) in early 2020 before making its own early decisions, while still taking into account Scotland’s health and age profile.

The average life expectancy in Scotland is still significantly lower than in the rest of the UK and western Europe, according to its government, while health inequalities in the country are the worst in western and central Europe.

The module continues this week with representatives of Scotland’s bereaved families, unions and public health bodies set to give evidence.

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