The Royal Commission of Inquiry report looks at how the government responded during the pandemic. (File photo) Photo: POOL / NZME
The first phase of the inquiry into the Covid-19 response has delivered 39 recommendations.
Many of these also have sub-recommendations detailing the recommended approach. For those details, read the reports.
Some of the recommendations below have been edited for clarity or brevity, and may include aspects of the sub-recommendations where relevant.
Below are the 39 primary recommendations:
- 1. Establish a central agency function to coordinate all-of-government preparedness to respond to pandemics (and other national risks).
- 2. Ensure the central agency function has access to appropriate scenario planning and modelling capability to support pandemic preparedness and response.
- 3. Establish a pandemic expert advisory group, including expertise from both the public and non-government sectors, to support pandemic preparedness and provide strategic advice during a pandemic response.
- 4. Take steps to strengthen oversight and accountability for public sector agencies' preparedness (including a chief executives group, and a cabinet committee or ministerial group, and setting up a regular review of preparedness).
- 5. Ensure public transparency by publishing the National Risk Register and requiring the public sector to include an assessment of preparedness in annual reports.
- 6. The Treasury should provide advice for sustainably funding the necessary preparation activities and associated systems improvements in the report.
- 7. The central agency should develop an all-of-government pandemic response plan.
- 8. Update the all-of-government pandemic plan following each national pandemic response exercise.
- 9. Develop an all-of-government response structure that can be quickly stood up in a pandemic.
- 10. Develop a plan to enable the movement of public sector capability and capacity during a pandemic response, including bringing in specific expertise where needed and ensuring that staff can be rotated to reduce the risk of burnout.
- 11. Central agency should prepare guidance and templates for producing advice under urgency.
- 12. Establish processes and accountability mechanisms to protect democratic and human rights during a pandemic response.
- 13. Ministry of Health should refine the current health system pandemic plan.
- 14. Develop a comprehensive plan for quarantine and isolation measures.
- 15. Ensure the health system can rapidly scale-up key public health functions in line with the health system pandemic plan. This includes preparedness to deliver contact tracing, testing, vaccination and guidance on infection prevention and control measures.
- 16. Ensure the health system has the information and data capability to deliver a pandemic response by prioritising work to implement the recommendations of the Health and Disability System Review (March 2020) calling for connected and shared health systems, data and information.
- 17. Develop a comprehensive plan for the use of international border restrictions which includes consideration of how to manage the impacts on people affected by border restrictions.
- 18. Develop a comprehensive plan for the use of national and regional lockdowns, including thresholds, how to manage impacts on people, and managing any regional boundaries.
- 19. Identify the circumstances in which vaccination requirements (occupational requirements, mandates, vaccine certificates or passes) might be recommended as part of a package of public health measures, and key considerations for how the negative impacts of the requirements might be mitigated.
- 20. Develop and maintain sector pandemic plans that complement each other, take input from stakeholders, provide for surging capacity, identify workforce needs, enable communication with community groups, and indicate how the Crown will support its te Tiriti obligations
- 21. Each sector should consider what activities within their sector might be able to be kept going in a safe way even when public health restrictions are in place, and how such safe activities could be enabled.
- 22. Plan and ensure system resilience and readiness for continuity of health and disability services during a pandemic.
- 23. Determine the costs and benefits (and associated funding priorities) of improving ventilation in all or parts of hospitals and other healthcare facilities, alongside other interventions designed to manage infection risk in those facilities.
- 24. Review and develop options for improving ventilation and filtration in buildings generally accessed by the public, other than healthcare facilities.
- 25. Determine appropriate governance arrangements and responsibilities for a coordinated economic response to a pandemic, in both short- and long-term scenarios.
- 26. Develop a labour market plan for responding to a pandemic, including identifying possible labour and skills gaps, and the use of quarantine and isolation management for meeting those needs.
- 27. Ensure ongoing operation of supply chains by working with international partners, building on existing work programmes, improving information-sharing between agencies, shippers and supply chain operatives, and working to improve private sector knowledge of supply chains and their difficulties.
- 28. The Ministry of Transport should assess what steps are needed prior to and during a pandemic to maintain port performance, and assess trends in international trade, aviation and shipping leading to a plan to mitigate the risk of transport shortages or bottlenecks.
- 29. Ensure the ongoing functioning of lifeline utilities, and continued provision of necessary goods and services during a pandemic.
- 30. Develop a comprehensive plan for financial assistance schemes during a pandemic to support people and businesses and maintain employment.
- 31. Determine appropriate governance arrangements and allocation of responsibilities for a coordinated welfare response in both short- and long-term pandemic scenarios.
- 32. In any future pandemic, ensure policy response options and funding mechanisms are in place to address housing, income, food security and safety needs, targeting the hardest-hit, and addressing mental health issues.
- 33. Plan and coordinate cross-sector approaches to commissioning delivery of community services in a pandemic.
- 34. Develop a sector pandemic plan that balances the need to maintain a functioning prison system with the wellbeing and human rights of the prison population.
- 35. Ensure access to education by continuing planning to ensure schools remain open as much as possible, early childhood education is supported, and support for international education can be urgently activated, in the event of a pandemic.
- 36. Review how public sector agencies supported the Crown in its relationship with Māori under te Tiriti in the Covid-19 pandemic.
- 37. Ensure all relevant legislation is fit for purpose in a pandemic, including the Health Act, Epidemic Preparedness Act, and Public Finance Act, and developing a model for pandemic legislation using the (now expired) Covid-19 Public Health Response Act 2020 as a framework while also incorporating policy reviews by government agencies.
- 38. Provide for the management and review of the infrastructure needed to support each sector's response to, and specific role in a pandemic, such as information communication technology, data systems, payment systems, contracting and operational systems, to ensure they are fit for purpose and ready for deployment.
- 39. Ensure timely implementation of the recommendations of Phase One of this Royal Commission of Inquiry by assigning a minister, with six-monthly progress reports, and tabling a progress report in Parliament within a year.
