Covid-19: Cost tracker update (+ Spending Review)
Public Accounts Committee
Closed
Inquiry
The Committee will question senior Treasury officials on the latest figures for the total cost of the UK national response to the Covid-19 pandemic so far , and how this impacts and interacts with the much-anticipated cross-Government Spending Review, with the Autumn Budget to be delivered on October 27 . …
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11
Recommendations
8
Conclusions
1
Report
1
Letter
Activity timeline 3 events
28 Apr
2022
2022
21 Apr
2022
2022
23 Feb
2022
2022
Report published
Reports 1 report · click to expand
| Title | HC No. | Published | Items | Response |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thirty-Eighth Report - COVID-19 cost tracker update | HC 640 | 23 Feb 2022 | 19 | Responded |
Recommendations & Conclusions
5 results
6
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Thirty-Eighth Report - COVID-19 co…
We noted that the public inquiry into government’s handling of COVID-19 was due to start...
We noted that the public inquiry into government’s handling of COVID-19 was due to start in the spring or summer of 2022, and that understanding how money was being spent was likely to be an important part of this inquiry. …
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Government Response
Acknowledges that the COVID-19 cost tracker has increased transparency and that the Treasury has committed to continue to conduct a routine review of these costs and to provide public updates.
HM Treasury
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7
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Thirty-Eighth Report - COVID-19 co…
HM Treasury told us that, during the pandemic, it had made some very significant sums...
HM Treasury told us that, during the pandemic, it had made some very significant sums of money available at short notice in conditions of great uncertainty. This funding was ring-fenced so that, if it was not needed for the intended …
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Government Response
Acknowledges that the COVID-19 cost tracker has increased transparency and that the Treasury has committed to continue to conduct a routine review of these costs and to provide public updates.
HM Treasury
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8
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Thirty-Eighth Report - COVID-19 co…
HM Treasury told us that one element of the cost tracker it would definitely continue...
HM Treasury told us that one element of the cost tracker it would definitely continue to monitor and report on was the cost of the various loan and grant schemes where the true cost will only be known over time.18 …
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Government Response
Acknowledges that the COVID-19 cost tracker has increased transparency and that the Treasury has committed to continue to conduct a routine review of these costs and to provide public updates.
HM Treasury
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16
Recommendation
Acknowledged
Thirty-Eighth Report - COVID-19 co…
We therefore asked HM Treasury what it was doing to identify and address some of...
We therefore asked HM Treasury what it was doing to identify and address some of the issues raised by our and the NAO’s work examining the response to the pandemic, for example around the trade-offs between acting at speed and …
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Government Response
The government agrees and states the recommendation is implemented, referring to a March 2021 letter outlining general lessons and actions, but it does not detail a specific new process for identifying and addressing the trade-offs between speed and value for money as raised by the Committee.
HM Treasury
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19
Recommendation
Acknowledged
Thirty-Eighth Report - COVID-19 co…
We asked HM Treasury what it was doing to ensure that, if emergency support such...
We asked HM Treasury what it was doing to ensure that, if emergency support such as business support schemes or loans were needed in future, those responsible would have the information they needed to act quickly, informed by lessons from …
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Government Response
The government agrees and states the recommendation is implemented by referring to a March 2021 letter that generally outlines lessons learned, but does not specifically detail how lessons are recorded to ensure long-term usefulness independent of staff changes, as requested.
HM Treasury
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Correspondence 1 letter
21 Apr 2022
Correspondence from Sir Tom Scholar, Permanent Secretary, HM Treasury, re COVID-19 cost tracker update (Session 2021-22), dated 31 March 2022
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