Hogan Lovells supports NACAS in giving a voice to care workers at the UK Covid-19 Inquiry

NACAS gave evidence through its founder, Paul Featherstone, as well as long-standing domiciliary care provider and NACAS member Julie Parkinson. Both provided personal testimony on the realities faced by frontline care professionals during the pandemic – many of whom felt overlooked, under-supported and, at times, blamed.

The evidence covered systemic issues including lack of workforce planning, shortages of data including the absence of a register of care workers in England, PPE and testing concerns, inconsistent and confusing guidance, and the disproportionate mortality experienced by care professionals.

Claire Lipworth, partner, and Helen Boniface, counsel, at Hogan Lovells, who led the team representing NACAS, said:

"We are pleased that we were able to represent NACAS in giving care workers a voice. We hope that evidence presented to the Inquiry will ensure that the social care workforce is no longer sidelined in national decision-making and leads to this critical profession receiving the recognition it rightly deserves from the Government and the public.”

Paul Featherstone, Founder of NACAS, said:

“Our members, overwhelmingly women, often from global majority backgrounds, were at the sharp end of the pandemic. They kept going despite exhaustion, grief, and enormous personal risk. They deserve not only recognition but meaningful change. Hogan Lovells didn’t just support us, they became a vital ally in helping us bring the voices of our care professionals into the heart of the Inquiry. Their insight, commitment, and care ensured that these voices were not only heard, but could not be ignored.”

After Paul gave oral evidence, Chair of the inquiry, Baroness Heather Hallett, commented:

“I've received a number of messages during the course of this module, and can promise you that the message I received particularly loud and clear is the message you wanted to get across, which is the importance of recognising the social care workforce and if I might say so, you asked if you could be proud of setting up the association, you should be rightly proud. It was obviously a gap that you foresaw long before many others had so thank you very much for all you've done to try and get the care profession recognised, and it is certainly a message I have received.” 

The Hogan Lovells team, including associates Georgina Denton and Maeve Rowley-O’Donnell, together with counsel Adam Payter and Megan Miller of 6KBW, has been focused on ensuring the unique structure and realities of social care are properly understood by the Inquiry. Their work has included reviewing disclosure and collating frontline evidence to support NACAS’s oral and written submissions, including highlighting the ongoing measures being taken by NACAS to improve the social care sector going forwards.