About Let's Be Heard

Jump to:

1. What is Let’s Be Heard?
2. What has Let’s Be Heard done so far?
3. What is Let’s Be Heard doing now?
4. Why is it important to share your experience?
5. Who can take part?
6. What information should I share?
7. Areas covered by the Inquiry
8. Continuing engagement
9. Our approach
10. The Let’s Be Heard timeline
11. Updates

What is Let’s Be Heard? 

Let’s Be Heard gives everyone affected by the devolved strategic response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland between 1 January 2020 and 31 December 2022 the chance to share their experiences with the Scottish COVID-19 Inquiry.

It is the main way in which people can contribute to the Inquiry and aims to give a voice to as many people across Scotland as possible.

Information gathered through Let’s Be Heard has the same status as that gathered through impact hearings. To find out how you can tell us about your experiences, please visit Share Your Experiences. 

What has Let’s Be Heard done so far? 

Let’s Be Heard has been gathering people’s experiences of the pandemic in Scotland. The listening project’s National Engagement Period ran for seven months between May and December 2023.

During this time people across Scotland were invited to tell us about their experiences of the pandemic, how these impacted them and any lessons they believe should be learned. People were able to do this as individuals, as part of a group, online, through digital uploads, on paper or by sharing existing reports from their group or organisation.

Over the course of our National Engagement Period, we heard from more than 5,000 people from every local authority in Scotland. The Let’s Be Heard team attended 120 events, conferences, information stands and group discussions, both online and in person all around the country.

We are very grateful to those who shared their experiences in 2023, as these experiences have been crucial in supporting the Inquiry’s work and informing its investigations.

The map below shows Let’s Be Heard submissions by local authority across Scotland. You can zoom in to see more detail and download the supporting data sheet.

We have also published our first report into early findings from our National Engagement Period. You can find the full report, executive summary, and easy-read of the executive summary on the Inquiry’s website.

What is Let’s Be Heard doing now? 

We are reading and analysing what people have shared so far and continuing to gather people’s experiences of the pandemic through our Focused Engagement Period.

To build on the broad base of information we have already gathered, we are working with organisations and groups to hear more about pandemic experiences in Scotland around specific themes. We will do this through a range of activities, such as workshops and focus groups. Through our Focused Engagement Period , Let’s Be Heard will continue to support the Inquiry’s investigations and future reports.

If you have not shared your experience of the pandemic in Scotland, please visit our Share your Experiences page for more information.

Why is it important to share your experience? 

Let’s Be Heard is a vital and integral part of the Inquiry.

Your contribution to Let’s Be Heard is important. It will: 

• shape the Inquiry’s investigations and recommendations; 
• help the Inquiry understand the impact of the pandemic for different people; and 
• ensure that lessons can be learned for the future. 

The Inquiry is investigating how the response to the pandemic impacted people in Scotland, including whether there were any unequal impacts for different groups and individuals. 

To do this, the Inquiry needs to hear from as many different people as possible.  

Who can take part? 

Anyone living in Scotland or affected by decisions made in Scotland between 1 January 2020 and 31 December 2022 can share their experiences of the pandemic with Let's Be Heard.  

We want to hear from you, no matter who you are. You do not need to have had COVID-19 to take part. 

If you want to take part and you find you are unable to do so, please contact us. 

What information should I share? 

We would like you to tell us what is important to you, so if you would like to share your experience online or through one of our paper forms, we are asking three very general questions about the pandemic. 

The questions ask you to tell us about: 

• your experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic;  
• the impacts of these experiences; and  
• any lessons you think should be learned from your experiences. 

We would like to hear about experiences that connect with our key areas of investigation and relate to the handling of the pandemic in Scotland.  

The areas the Scottish COVID-19 Inquiry is investigating are set out in our Terms of Reference. Broadly, they relate to the devolved areas of health, education, welfare assistance and financial support.  

The illustration below provides a broad overview of what the Inquiry is investigating: 

Areas covered by the Inquiry include:

• Preparation for the pandemic
  
• Lockdown and other restrictions
• COVID testing and the delivery of vaccination programmes
• Managing outbreaks
• Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
• Shielding
• Care homes and nursing homes
• Health and social care services
• Unpaid carers
• End-of-life care including Do Not Attempt to Resuscitate Orders (DNACPR)
• Welfare assistance programmes
• Education
• Support for businesses and the self-employed

Continuing engagement

If you choose to share your experiences with Let’s Be Heard, we may wish to contact you in future to ask you for more information or to invite you to take part in Inquiry activities. For example, we could ask you to:

• discuss your experiences further; or
• invite you to a focus group or workshop.

If you would like us to be able to contact you in future, please share your contact details on the form when prompted.

Our approach

To create Let’s Be Heard we have:

• applied the principles of a Human-Rights Based Approach;
• considered equality and non-discrimination;
• considered accessibility; and
• undertaken a trauma-informed approach

These approaches all work together to ensure everyone in Scotland can share their experiences with the Inquiry. You can find out more on our Human-Rights and Other Approaches page.

The Let’s Be Heard timeline

To ensure both our National and Focused Engagement Periods are inclusive and accessible, Let’s Be Heard carried out two pilots:

• November-December 2022: with representative organisations
• February-March 2023: with members of the public, through organisations

We are grateful for the valuable input, time, and support during these two pilots from people who have been bereaved, or had/have relatives in care, as well as those involved in third sector, civil society and community groups.

Following the pilots, Let’s Be Heard launched its National Engagement Period on 23 May 2023, which ran for seven months to 20 December 2023.

We will continue to gather experiences through our Focused Engagement Period, which will run until late 2024. We are also reading and analysing people’s experiences that have already been shared with Let’s Be Heard, to support the Inquiry’s ongoing investigations and reports.

Updates

Let’s Be Heard will provide regular updates throughout the course of the Inquiry. If you would like to receive these updates, you can:

• sign up online
• write to us at LetsBeHeard@covid19inquiry.scot or
• Freepost SCOTTISH COVID-19 INQUIRY.

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