UK Inquiry Tracker

Initial lessons from the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic

Public Accounts Committee Closed Inquiry

Opened: 30 Apr 2021 Closed: 16 Nov 2021 Parliament page

By the end of March 2021, the NAO will have published 17 reports on the government’s response to COVID-19, and the Committee has conducted inquiries on almost all of them. Continuing on from our session on the NAO’s Covid cost tracker, the Committee will examine the key themes that have … Read more

21 Recommendations

6 Conclusions

1 Report

1 Oral session

7 Letters

1 Event

Activity timeline 10 events

23 Nov
2021

Correspondence

Correspondence Catherine Little, Director General, Public Spending Head of Government Finance Function, re The Boardman Review, dated 15 No…

16 Nov
2021

Correspondence

Correspondence from Joanna Davinson, Executive Director, Central Digital and Data Office and Jennifer Rowland, Deputy Director, Efficiency …

16 Nov
2021

Correspondence

Correspondence from Sir Chris Wormald KCB, Permanent Secretary, Department of Health and Social Care, re an update on the Thirteenth Report…

16 Nov
2021

Correspondence

Correspondence from Simon Baugh, Chief Executive, Government Communication, re in relation to recommendation 4 of the Thirteenth Report of …

16 Nov
2021

Correspondence

Correspondence from Joanna Davinson, Executive Director, Central Digital and Data Office, re in relation to recommendation 2 of the Thirtee…

8 Nov
2021

Report published

Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Thirteenth report from Session 2021-22

25 Jul
2021

Report published

Thirteenth Report - Initial lessons from the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic

2 Jul
2021

Correspondence

Correspondence from the Cabinet Office, dated 24 June 2021 regarding the publication of Government contracts

30 Jun
2021

Correspondence

Correspondence from Sir Chris Wormald KCB, Permanent Secretary, Department of Health and Social Care, re PAC hearing – Initial lessons lear…

10 Jun
2021

Oral evidence

Initial lessons from the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic

Oral evidence sessions 1 session

10 Jun 2021

View on parliament.uk

Initial lessons from the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic

Alex Chisholm · Cabinet Office James Bowler CB · HM Treasury Simon Case · Cabinet Office Sir Chris Wormald · Department of Health and Social Care Sir Tom Scholar · HM Treasury

Reports 1 report · click to expand

Title	HC No.	Published	Items	Response
Thirteenth Report - Initial lessons from the government’s respon…	HC 175	25 Jul 2021	27	Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

5 results

5 Recommendation Not Addressed

Thirteenth Report - Initial lesson…

Government has yet to improve its approach to managing risk or set out which trade-offs...

Government has yet to improve its approach to managing risk or set out which trade-offs it intends to make in future emergencies. The pandemic has highlighted the importance of carrying out robust risk planning and being clear about risk appetite … Read more

Government Response

The government's response is completely unrelated to the recommendation, discussing BBC audience decline and strategies rather than the implementation of a risk management profession.

HM Treasury

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1 Conclusion Not Addressed

Thirteenth Report - Initial lesson…

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

On the basis of a Report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Cabinet Office, the Department of Health & Social Care (the Department) and HM Treasury on initial lessons from the government’s response to the … Read more

Government Response

The government's response provides an overall introduction to its response to the Committee's report, outlining the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and the government's actions, rather than specifically addressing this introductory conclusion about the committee's evidence session.

HM Treasury

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15 Conclusion

Thirteenth Report - Initial lesson…

The NAO found that the pandemic had disproportionately impacted specific groups of people.

The NAO found that the pandemic had disproportionately impacted specific groups of people. For example, disrupted schooling is likely to have longer-term adverse effects on children from disadvantaged backgrounds. The Education Endowment Foundation predicted that schools closures in the 2019/20 … Read more

HM Treasury

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19 Conclusion

Thirteenth Report - Initial lesson…

Our previous work has shown a mixed picture in terms of the views of end...

Our previous work has shown a mixed picture in terms of the views of end users regarding the satisfaction and success of programmes introduced in response to the pandemic. Gathering feedback from end users and frontline workers is vital for … Read more

HM Treasury

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25 Conclusion

Thirteenth Report - Initial lesson…

Our recent report on fraud and error highlighted that the taxpayer is expected to lose...

Our recent report on fraud and error highlighted that the taxpayer is expected to lose billions of pounds from the increased risk of fraud and error in the government’s COVID-19 schemes. It found that the cost of fraud and error … Read more Our recent report on fraud and error highlighted that the taxpayer is expected to lose billions of pounds from the increased risk of fraud and error in the government’s COVID-19 schemes. It found that the cost of fraud and error within the tax and benefits system is fairly well understood by government, and HMRC and DWP have well- established approach to tackle and address fraud and error in their areas. But for many areas of spend outside the tax and benefits system there is still no formal measurement and limited capability to tackle fraud and error, risking large amounts of fraud and error being unidentified or untackled.53 We therefore asked HM Treasury what it was doing to ensure that Departments pay greater attention to identifying and addressing fraud and error and complied fully with requirements set out in Managing Public Money. HM Treasury and 50 Qq 4–6 51 C&AG’s Report, paras 5–11; Committee of Public Accounts, COVID-19: Support for children’s education, Committee of Public Accounts, COVID-19: Bounce Back Loan Scheme, HC 687, Session 2019–21, 16 December 2020, para 1; C&AG’s Report, para 6 52 Qq 21, 41; C&AG’s Report, paras 7–8 53 Committee of Public Accounts, Fraud and Error, HC 253, Session 2021–22, 30 June 2021 Initial lessons from the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic 19 the Cabinet Office explained that, as well as departments with established counter-fraud capabilities, such as the Department for Work & Pensions and HM Revenue & Customs, other departments such as the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport and the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs had to deal with increased fraud risks. It told us that government was supporting those departments with additional resource and capability, strengthening the counter-fraud and finance functions, and reminding accounting officers of their responsibilities with regard to fraud and error.54 Show less

HM Treasury

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Government Response AI assessment · 24 of 21 classified

Accepted 21

Acknowledged 1

Not Addressed 2

Total 21 recs + 6 conclusions

Correspondence 7 letters

23 Nov 2021 Correspondence Catherine Little, Director General, Public Spending Head of Government Finance Function, re The Boardman Review, dated 15 November 2021

Parliament page

16 Nov 2021 Correspondence from Joanna Davinson, Executive Director, Central Digital and Data Office and Jennifer Rowland, Deputy Director, Efficiency and Cabinet Office HM Treasury, re in relation to recommendation 2 of the Thirteenth Report of the 2021-22 Session of the Public Accounts Committee, on ‘Initial Lessons from the Government’s Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic, dated 4 November 2021

Parliament page

16 Nov 2021 Correspondence from Sir Chris Wormald KCB, Permanent Secretary, Department of Health and Social Care, re an update on the Thirteenth Report of Session 2021-22, Initial Lessons, dated 2 November 2021

Parliament page

16 Nov 2021 Correspondence from Simon Baugh, Chief Executive, Government Communication, re in relation to recommendation 4 of the Thirteenth Report of the 2021-22 Session of the Public Accounts Committee, on ‘Initial Lessons from the Government’s Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic’, dated 29 October 2021

Parliament page

16 Nov 2021 Correspondence from Joanna Davinson, Executive Director, Central Digital and Data Office, re in relation to recommendation 2 of the Thirteenth Report of the 2021-22 Session of the Public Accounts Committee, on ‘Initial Lessons from the Government’s Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic, 28 October 2021

Parliament page

2 Jul 2021 Correspondence from the Cabinet Office, dated 24 June 2021 regarding the publication of Government contracts

Parliament page

30 Jun 2021 Correspondence from Sir Chris Wormald KCB, Permanent Secretary, Department of Health and Social Care, re PAC hearing – Initial lessons learnt, dated 22 June 2021

Parliament page