Decision making in a crisis: successes, failures and what the government should learn

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The government has endured wide-ranging criticism of its coronavirus response: from the timing of lockdown and its initial testing capacity to U-turns on quarantine and A-level results, through an ill-fated contact tracing app.

How far are these failures explained by the difficulty of making decisions under enormous pressure? Or are they symptoms of deeper, enduring problems with the government machine?

Drawing in particular on three case studies examined in a new IfG report – Covid testing capacity, lockdown and the government’s economic support measures – this event looked at why different aspects of the government’s pandemic response did or did not work as hoped, and the lessons the government can learn.

Our panel included:

• David Gauke, former Secretary of State for Justice
• Una O’Brien, former Permanent Secretary at the Department of Health
• Sarah Nickson, Researcher at the Institute for Government

The event was chaired by Alex Thomas, Programme Director at the Institute for Government.

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