MPs’ Covid report shows that all policy needs evidence

Damning indictment reveals the folly of trying to separate advice from decision-making, says David Walker

Covid has been—and still is—a huge natural experiment. Most obviously, the pandemic has generated masses of data on microbiology, epidemiology and behaviour, vaccines and transmission rates. But it’s also produced a trove of evidence about power, money, institutions and the capacity of the state.

In the UK, that includes the functioning and effectiveness of emergency management, social care, the NHS, coordination between government departments, private-sector contracting and so on.