Starting Monday 29 September at 10.30am, the UK Covid-19 Inquiry will be taking evidence from a wide range of organisations and witnesses on how government decision-making during the pandemic affected children and young people. Hearings will consider the specific experiences and harms suffered by children in care and care leavers, children in prison, and children in contact with the immigration system.
The actions and decision-making of government before, during and after the pandemic will be under scrutiny. Of particular focus will be whether government departments sought advice and information from statutory children’s rights bodies – the Children’s Commissioners for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – before making critical decisions affecting the rights and wellbeing of children. Children’s Commissioners are vital watchdogs and champions for the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). Each of the UK’s four Children’s Commissioners is required by law to promote and protect children’s rights, with the UNCRC as their guiding framework.
Article 39 children’s rights charity is a core participant in this module, which means we are able to review all evidence obtained by the Inquiry, including communications within government during the pandemic; make written and oral submissions; and seek to ask questions of key witnesses.
A month after the first national lockdown, the former government introduced secondary legislation which deleted and diluted 65 safeguards for highly vulnerable children, mostly those in and entering care. Article 39 legally challenged the government’s failure to consult the Children’s Commissioner for England or any other children’s rights bodies. In November 2020, the Court of Appeal found that the then Secretary of State for Education, Sir Gavin Williamson, had acted unlawfully in failing to consult children’s rights bodies before making “substantial and wide-ranging” changes to children’s legal protections (judgment here).
In a preliminary hearing in June this year, counsel to the Inquiry confirmed that the existence and effectiveness of government mechanisms for understanding the perspectives and experiences of children, and seeking children’s rights advice from Children’s Commissioners, are to be examined by the Inquiry. Lead counsel to the Inquiry, Clair Dobbin KC, explained at the hearing:
Just on Article 39, their submissions make the point that mechanisms in place to ensure that children and young people’s views are taken into account and that there are mechanisms in place for consultation with Commissioners should be added to the list of issues. I just wanted to say on behalf of the module that they have picked up on an important point here and I wanted to confirm, if I may, that questions have been asked of ministers about, for example, not consulting the Children’s Commissioner in England prior to the enactment of the Adoption and Children (Coronavirus) (Amendment) Regulations 2020, and that consideration is being given to the nature of consultation with children and how decision-makers can integrate the experiences of children as well.
Clair Dobbin KC, Lead counsel to the Inquiry, 11 June 2025
Carolyne Willow, senior children’s rights advisor at Article 39, said:
“Many thousands of highly vulnerable children and young people were deeply affected by the actions and inactions of government before and during the pandemic, from the loss of vital legal protections for children entering care for the first time as well as for those already in care, to the normalisation of solitary confinement and denial of family contact and education in child prisons, to children having to stay in mental health inpatient care due to the lack of suitable community facilities.
“The pandemic laid bare the very low political priority given to children’s rights in ordinary times, with nearly every public service for children and young people already struggling to meet high levels of need. Article 39 and others had long exposed inadequate government mechanisms for understanding the potential impact of ministerial decision-making on children and their rights.
“There was never any groundbreaking social or fiscal policy for children akin to the Nightingale hospitals, furlough scheme or the ‘Everyone in’ hotel and emergency accommodation. This shows the lack of sustained focus on children and their rights at the centre of government. These month-long hearings are an essential mechanism for holding government to account for past decision-making and looking ahead to the structures and mechanisms that need to be put in place to guarantee children’s rights and interests are at the heart of government in the event of another pandemic or equivalent national emergency.”
Oliver Studdert from Irwin Mitchell Solicitors said:
“The pandemic not only exposed but, in many cases, deepened existing inequalities and systemic failures in the protection of children. Children’s rights are not optional—they are legal obligations. In this module of the Covid Inquiry, Article 39 aims to highlight the impact of the pandemic on the rights and wellbeing of children in care and institutional settings.”
Notes
- Article 39 is represented by Oliver Studdert and Katie Wilkins from Irwin Mitchell, Mark Twomey KC from Coram Chambers, and Mary-Rachel McCabe from Doughty Street Chambers.
- The timetable and list of witnesses for week 1 hearings can be found here.
- The hearings will be live streamed by the Inquiry, see here.
- The transcript of the June 2025 preliminary hearing can be found here.
- The Inquiry commissioned research into the views and experiences of 600 children and young people during the pandemic, including those who lived in children’s homes, mental health inpatient units and prisons. The report from this research, published 25 September 2025, can be found here.
