Public hearing sessions will begin this morning on the UK’s preparedness for the Covid pandemic.

The first module focused on ‘resilience and preparedness’ will be led by Inquiry chair Baroness Hallett.

An opening statement from the Baroness will be followed by a film featuring bereaved families.

The first four modules of the Inquiry cover: resilience and preparedness; core UK decision-making and political governance; impact on the healthcare systems; and vaccines and therapeutics.

Further modules including those covering the care sector and government procurement and PPE are scheduled to be announced in the coming months.

Campaign group Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK has said it was “incredibly disappointing” that the hearing on the care sector is not expected until 2025 at the earliest.

There were 43,256 deaths involving Covid-19 in care homes in England between March 2020 and January 2022.

Helen Wildbore, director of Care Rights UK, said: “The pandemic, and management of it, had a devastating impact on people living in care. Families have waited a long time to learn what went wrong and are desperate for answers to help give them some closure. For people taken too soon, for those who died alone, who suffered the pain of separation, who still live with the trauma and guilt – we can’t change the past but we must ensure lessons are learnt to safeguard our future. We are determined their voices and experience will be heard.”

Meanwhile, care minister, Helen Whately, has refused to back comments by former health and social care minister Matt Hancock that a “protective ring” was placed around care homes during the pandemic.

Speaking to The Guardian, Whately said she wanted to “use my own words which is that I look back on doing everything I felt that we could to help care homes and social care more broadly at an incredibly difficult time”.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “Throughout the pandemic the government acted to save lives and livelihoods, prevent the NHS being overwhelmed and deliver a world-leading vaccine rollout which protected millions of lives across the nation. 

“We have always said there are lessons to be learnt from the pandemic and we are committed to learning from the Covid-19 Inquiry’s findings which will play a key role in informing the government’s planning and preparations for the future. We will consider all recommendations made to the department in full.” 

You can follow the public hearings live this morning on the BBC.