Forty-Fifth Report - Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy Annual Report and Accounts 2021–22

Select Committee
Public Accounts Committee HC 1254 26 April 2023
Report Status Government responded
Conclusions & Recommendations 24 items (6 recs)
Source View on Parliament website
Government Response (AI assessment · 24 of 24 classified)
Accepted 14
Accepted in Part 1
Acknowledged 4
Deferred 2
Not Addressed 1
Rejected 2
Government response
Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Forty fifth report from Session 2022-23 · published 27 Jun 2023
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Recommendations & Conclusions

4 results
10 Conclusion Acknowledged
Bounce Back Loan Scheme design left taxpayers exposed to significant fraud and error.
Conclusion
The Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) is the largest of the Covid-19 business support loan schemes, with 1.6 million loans approved, totalling £47.4 billion.19 BBLS gave the lender a full (100%) government-backed guarantee against the outstanding balance of the facility … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the Department provided more than £38 billion for the Bounce Back Loans Scheme.
HM Treasury
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13 Conclusion Acknowledged
Initial fraud response for Bounce Back Loan Scheme lacked appropriate in-house function.
Conclusion
The inadequacy of the Department’s initial fraud response on the Bounce Back Loan Scheme has been well documented, through our previous report28, and the most recent NAO report on this topic.29 This included the lack of initial liaison with the … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the Committee's recommendation and highlights the development of a Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) Counter Fraud strategy, quarterly data publications on COVID-19 debt schemes, and a series of pilots to test the case for additional recovery activities.
HM Treasury
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14 Conclusion Acknowledged
Department demonstrates progress in fraud response, updating risk assessment with lessons learned.
Conclusion
The Department has made progress in its fraud response. The Fraud Risk Assessment has been updated, although this identified additional fraud risks which were not considered at the point the scheme was launched.30 Notably, the Department told us about the … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the Committee's recommendation and highlights the development of a Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) Counter Fraud strategy, quarterly data publications on COVID-19 debt schemes, and a series of pilots to test the case for additional recovery activities.
HM Treasury
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17 Conclusion Acknowledged
The Department is responsible for government’s business support grant schemes which have has provided local...
Conclusion
The Department is responsible for government’s business support grant schemes which have has provided local authorities with £25 billion of COVID-19 grant funding to allocate to eligible businesses since March 2020. Furthermore, the Department provided more than £38 billion for … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the Department's responsibility for business support grant schemes and the Bounce Back Loans Scheme.
HM Treasury
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