UK Inquiry Tracker

Whole of Government Response to COVID-19

Public Accounts Committee Closed Inquiry

Opened: 4 Jun 2020 Closed: 28 Sep 2020 Parliament page

The National Audit Office, which produces the reports that underpin the Public Accounts Committee’s inquiries into the government’s use of taxpayer money, has launched a new programme of work on the Government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic. This will be a “substantial programme of independent reports from the National Audit … Read more The National Audit Office, which produces the reports that underpin the Public Accounts Committee’s inquiries into the government’s use of taxpayer money, has launched a new programme of work on the Government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic. This will be a “substantial programme of independent reports from the National Audit Office to Parliament and the public on how the money has been spent and the lessons learned” in the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The NAO is rapidly producing this programme of reports NAO to support Parliament and the PAC in its scrutiny of government’s response to COVID-19, and unlike “usual” NAO reports does not at this stage assess their value for money or their effectiveness. The Committee will therefore seek to question Government officials in depth on their processes in executing this “unprecedented in modern times” public spending response, and the effectiveness and efficiency of this spending. The Committee’s next inquiry will also be on the next of these Covid-19 response reports, on preparations in the NHS and social care for the Covid-19 peak in the UK. In the first of the reports of this new programme, Overview of the UK government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic , the NAO outlines the range of measures taken by government to mid-May and where financial support has been targeted. It finds that by early May, the Government had made over 500 announcements about how it is responding to Covid 19, and committed to over £124 billion of spending. The £124.3 billion of programmes, initiatives and spending commitments announced by government covers: Grants like those to small and medium businesses, and other payments - £111.3 billion Expected costs of loans, like the CovidBusiness Interruption Ioans which the government has guaranteed - £5.0 billion Increases to welfare benefits - £8.0 billion The Government’s response was mobilised across five areas: £6.6 billion: 4 Health and social care measures, covering equipment, testing, services and vaccine development £15.8 billion: Other public services and the wider emergency response, including funding for local government services, education and children’s services £19.5 billion: Support for individuals, including benefits and sick pay and support for vulnerable people £82.2 billion: Support for businesses, including support for retaining jobs, loans and grants; and £0.2 billion: Other support, including providing the public with information The actual costs of government’s response are uncertain - these preliminary figures do not include tax receipts lost in the same period, for example - and will depend on the continuing health and economic impacts of the pandemic. If you have evidence on the effectiveness or efficiency of the Government spending in response to Covid-19 described in this report, please submit it here by close of Thursday 11 June 2020. Show less

3 Recommendations

20 Conclusions

1 Report

1 Oral session

6 Letters

1 Event

Activity timeline 9 events

14 Sep
2020

Correspondence

Correspondence from the Cabinet Office relating to the Committee's report Whole of Government Response to COVID-19, dated 1 September 2020

23 Jul
2020

Report published

Thirteenth Report: Whole of Government Response to COVID-19

21 Jul
2020

Correspondence

Correspondence from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on the impact on Local Authorities from COVID-19, dated 2 Jul…

6 Jul
2020

Correspondence

Correspondence from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on the Committee's inquiry Whole of Government Response to CO…

6 Jul
2020

Correspondence

Correspondence from HM Treasury on the Committee's inquiry on Whole of Government Response to COVID-19, dated 29 June 2020

22 Jun
2020

Correspondence

Correspondence from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on New Burdens Funding for Covid-19, dated 22 June 2020

22 Jun
2020

Correspondence

Correspondence from the Cabinet Office following on from the session on Whole of Government response to COVID-19, dated 22 June 2020

15 Jun
2020

Oral evidence

Whole of Government Response to COVID-19

15 Jun
2020

Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Virtual meeting

Whole of Government Response to COVID-19

Oral evidence sessions 1 session

15 Jun 2020

View on parliament.uk

Whole of Government Response to COVID-19

Alex Chisholm · Cabinet Office Cat Little · Cabinet Office Jeremy Pocklington · Ministry of Defence Sam Beckett · Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Sir Tom Scholar · HM Treasury

Reports 1 report · click to expand

Title	HC No.	Published	Items	Response
Thirteenth Report: Whole of Government Response to COVID-19	HC 404	23 Jul 2020	23	Overdue

Recommendations & Conclusions

23 results

2 Recommendation

Thirteenth Report: Whole of Govern…

We understand and acknowledge that the usual processes for scrutinising and approving spending decisions may...

We understand and acknowledge that the usual processes for scrutinising and approving spending decisions may need to be relaxed when urgent action is needed during an emergency. In the following paragraph we criticise the transparency over ministerial directions, not the … Read more

HM Treasury

Whole of Government Response to COVID-19

Activity timeline 9 events

Oral evidence sessions 1 session

Reports 1 report · click to expand

Recommendations & Conclusions

We understand and acknowledge that the usual processes for scrutinising and approving spending decisions may...

We are concerned that lessons have not been learned ahead of a potential second spike...

Effective coordination and command structures are critical for good decision making in any ongoing emergency.

There were fundamental flaws in the government’s central procurement and local distribution of vital goods...

The unit cost paid by the government for PPE and medical equipment is higher than...

The majority of business support measures have been one-size-fits-all, but some crucial sectors of the...

Central government has not given local authorities the clarity or support they need over longer-term...

On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence...

Transparency about decisions taken and lessons learned from the pandemic is critical to ensuring public...

Ministerial directions are expected to be published as soon as possible after they are issued,...

The Cabinet Office set out the governance and decision-making structures for the UK government’s response...

The Cabinet Office acknowledged that responding to COVID-19 was a massive operation across government requiring...

Another example is the gaps in support for self-employed people, given there are large numbers...

Robust and timely data is also crucial to support decision making and efforts to coordinate...

Many departments are having to source products and services quickly in new or emerging markets,...

The Cabinet Office acknowledged that it was taken by surprise by the need for a...

In April 2020 the Treasury committed £4 billion of funding for the UK’s PPE demand...

The government has instituted a range of support measures for businesses to help them cope...

The largest business support measures, such as the furlough scheme and loans schemes have been...

We asked the Department whether it would adopt a more bespoke, sector-based approach to supporting...

Local authorities play a significant role in all parts of the UK government’s response to...

Local authorities’ budgets are under more pressure than ever as a result of COVID-19, and...

Although the Ministry has set out the areas of local government funding that central government...

Correspondence 6 letters