So-called “gold command” meetings held by Nicola Sturgeon and a small group of ministers and advisers “reduced transparency” during the pandemic, the UK Covid-19 Inquiry has found.
Then first minister Ms Sturgeon met separately during the pandemic with a smaller group outside Cabinet meetings, with the inquiry saying decisions were made which were later ratified by the rest of the ministerial cohort.
Minutes of such meetings were not taken, and the report found that meant it was “difficult to understand the nature and extent of the discussions in these meetings”.
The inquiry report said: “The use of the informal gold command meeting structure diminished the role of the Scottish Cabinet and reduced the transparency of the Scottish Government’s decision-making during the pandemic.
“It also deprived decision-makers of a wide range of views.
“The Scottish Cabinet frequently became a decision-ratifying body, not the ultimate decision-making body.
“The Scottish Cabinet should have been involved to a greater degree in decision making in Scotland.
“This would have ensured greater transparency and enhanced accountability for decisions taken by the gold command and, increasingly, Ms Sturgeon.”
The report also accused Ms Sturgeon of sidelining the Cabinet in the decision to close schools.
On March 17 2020, the Cabinet agreed the merits of closing schools should be looked at over the following days, but a meeting held between Ms Sturgeon and her deputy John Swinney – the two most senior leaders in the country – immediately afterwards led to the decision being taken.
In his evidence, Mr Swinney said they decided as a pair that Ms Sturgeon should announce schools would close at the end of that week.
The inquiry report said: “This important decision was therefore taken by Ms Sturgeon and Mr Swinney outside the Cabinet decision-making process and in circumstances in which the Cabinet had agreed to keep the proposed measure under consideration.
“Although the situation was rapidly deteriorating, the Cabinet should have been sufficiently agile and engaged to play its central role in decision-making and not be sidelined in this way.”
Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes addressed MSPs on Thursday after the publication of the report, committing the Scottish Government to learn lessons from the pandemic.
“As this report publishes, my thoughts turn to the many families across Scotland who lost loved ones during the pandemic,” Ms Forbes said.
“In recognition of the hurt, loss and suffering felt by so many across Scotland, we are committed to learning from the past.”
The Deputy First Minister added: “During the pandemic, the Scottish Government’s foremost priority was to protect the public from the novel Covid-19 virus.
“We had to learn and adapt rapidly, implementing unprecedented measures to limit transmission and safeguard our most vulnerable communities.
“With the benefit of hindsight, we acknowledge that some choices – made in good faith at the time and under immense pressures – may not have always been the right ones.”
She added it is “vital” the response to future pandemics is “informed and strengthened by the lessons” from Covid.
