The Government Office for Science, led until recently by Sir Patrick Vallance, told the closing of the Covid-19 public inquiry investigation into UK preparedness that the government should follow South Korea with a "better developed and funded public health system" that would improve public health in peacetime and turn to test and trace in a pandemic.
The intervention came after the inquiry heard of sweeping cuts to public health systems before the pandemic and that health officials based in town halls were "ignored by central government in the planning for a pandemic".
Heather Hallett, the inquiry's chair, said she hoped to publish her findings about the nation's readiness by early summer 2024.
The next inquiry module opens on 5 October, examining pandemic decision-making in Downing Street and across the government and is likely to hear evidence from such figures as Boris Johnson, Dominic Cummings and Rishi Sunak.
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