O'Donovan, C; (2022) Coronavirus Act (2020) Two Years On - written evidence submitted to the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee call. UK Pandemic Ethics Accelerator: Oxford, UK.

Text O'Donovan et al. - 2022 - Department of Public Administration and Constituti.pdf Access restricted to UCL open access staff Download (333kB)

Abstract

We present evidence that shows: The Coronavirus Act 2020 (the Act) led directly and indirectly to the creation, expansion and interlinkage of public-private data gathering infrastructure on a huge scale. The expansion of data gathering and data-use in policy was accompanied by ethical debate about trade-offs between, for instance, individual privacy and central government control, or the need for transparent commissioning versus commercial constraints. So far, scrutiny of the Act has failed to systematically evaluate the matters at the heart of these concerns. Two years on, there should now be a clearer picture of trade-offs and impacts on different individuals, groups and communities in the UK. As part of debates about further policy extensions, sunsetting, or new forms of scrutiny, there is the need for public debate, deliberation, transparency and accountability mechanisms that reflect societal needs, norms and public values and how these have sometimes shifted during the pandemic. This is vital if trust in public institutions such as the NHS is to be maintained. We recommend the establishment of a Select Committee inquiry or independent review to systematically review the collection of, and use of data in public policy decision making, as well as the impact it has had on reducing the spread of covid-19.

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