Holyrood inquiry to review pandemic preparedness

The Scottish Parliament’s Health & Sport Committee is to examine the country’s national emergency and resilience planning following the outbreak of COVID-19.

MSPs will explore how prepared the country was for the pandemic and whether the Scottish Government could better manage future outbreaks of coronavirus or other pandemics.

Their scrutiny is part of a series of short inquiries by the committee into the Government’s response to the pandemic.

Committee convener Lewis Macdonald MSP commented:

"With new outbreaks reported in Germany, South Korea and China of late, and with some experts claiming a second wave of infections is likely, we need to consider how well the Government is prepared to respond to this.

"Over the coming weeks, the committee will consider written submissions from public health experts and academics on ways to deal with future outbreaks of coronavirus or other pandemics.

"Our inquiry will explore whether previous planning was adequate in preparing us for this current outbreak, whether anything could have been done better, and what lessons can be learned from COVID-19 which will allow the country to be better prepared in future."

The committee is contacting relevant organisations directly, with the public evidence session on resilience and emergency planning scheduled to take place in the next few weeks.

Click here for further information on the committee's current work.