Thirty-Eighth Report - COVID-19 cost tracker update

Select Committee
Public Accounts Committee HC 640 23 February 2022
Report Status Government responded
Conclusions & Recommendations 19 items (11 recs)
Source View on Parliament website
Government Response (AI assessment · 18 of 19 classified)
Accepted 8
Accepted in Part 2
Acknowledged 5
Not Addressed 3
Government response
Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Thirty Eighth report from Session 2021-22 · published 28 Apr 2022
Read the government response ↗ Response on the tracker

Recommendations & Conclusions

19 results
2 Recommendation Accepted
We are concerned that HM Treasury does not intend to adequately monitor and update the...
Recommendation
We are concerned that HM Treasury does not intend to adequately monitor and update the ongoing cost of COVID-19 to the taxpayer. Monitoring the forecast costs and actual spend related to COVID-19 is crucial for Parliamentary scrutiny and for holding … Read more
Government Response Summary
The Treasury will publish annual updates on the COVID-19 cost tracker data for the next two years, focusing on material changes reliably attributed to COVID-19, and will then review the need for further updates.
HM Treasury
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3 Recommendation Accepted
HM Treasury does not yet know how much money has been lost to fraud and...
Recommendation
HM Treasury does not yet know how much money has been lost to fraud and error across government’s response to COVID-19. Our previous work on government’s response to COVID-19 has revealed that the risk of fraud and error to public … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government stated that each department is responsible for estimating fraud and error in the schemes it administers and that the department wrote to the Committee on 31 March 2021 to respond to these questions and that latest estimates are set out in departments’ 2020-21 Annual Report and Accounts (ARAs).
HM Treasury
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4 Recommendation Accepted
HM Treasury has not set out what lessons it has learnt from the government’s response...
Recommendation
HM Treasury has not set out what lessons it has learnt from the government’s response to COVID-19 and how it will apply these in future. The pandemic required government to respond rapidly to emerging issues across all areas of society. … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government stated that the department wrote to the Committee on 31 March 2021 outlining lessons and actions that have been taken across public spending, finance and economic support schemes.
HM Treasury
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1 Recommendation Accepted in Part
Based on the fourth iteration of the COVID-19 cost tracker (the cost tracker) published by...
Recommendation
Based on the fourth iteration of the COVID-19 cost tracker (the cost tracker) published by the Comptroller and Auditor General in September 2021, we took evidence from HM Treasury about the costs of government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.1 In … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the benefits of the COVID-19 cost tracker and will apply them to the public spending implications of the UK’s response to the invasion of Ukraine, while also highlighting existing expenditure data publications.
HM Treasury
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5 Recommendation Accepted in Part
In our evidence session on 17th November 2021, we observed that the cost tracker had...
Recommendation
In our evidence session on 17th November 2021, we observed that the cost tracker had supported Parliamentary scrutiny of departments and enabled us to hold government to account.9 We have found the model used in the cost tracker very useful, … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the benefits of the COVID-19 cost tracker and will apply them to the public spending implications of the UK’s response to the invasion of Ukraine, while also highlighting existing expenditure data publications.
HM Treasury
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6 Conclusion Acknowledged
We noted that the public inquiry into government’s handling of COVID-19 was due to start...
Conclusion
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. … Read more
Government Response Summary
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
HM Treasury told us that, during the pandemic, it had made some very significant sums...
Conclusion
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 … Read more
Government Response Summary
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
HM Treasury told us that one element of the cost tracker it would definitely continue...
Conclusion
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 … Read more
Government Response Summary
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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9 Recommendation Accepted
Across government’s response to COVID-19, there are also other substantial loan books that have no...
Recommendation
Across government’s response to COVID-19, there are also other substantial loan books that have no estimated write-offs as at the September 2021 update to the cost tracker, but which government will have to manage until the loans are repaid. For … Read more
Government Response Summary
HM Treasury will continue to conduct a routine review of COVID-19 costs, including the Culture Recovery Fund, and publish annual updates for the next two years, after which the Treasury will review what is still required.
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10 Recommendation Accepted
In its letter to us after our evidence session, HM Treasury recognised the helpful role...
Recommendation
In its letter to us after our evidence session, HM Treasury recognised the helpful role that the NAO cost tracker has played in improving transparency on the cost of COVID-19, as well as its role as the definitive source of … Read more
Government Response Summary
The Treasury will publish annual updates on the COVID-19 cost tracker data for the next two years, focusing on material changes reliably attributed to COVID-19, and will then review the need for further updates.
HM Treasury
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11 Conclusion Accepted
We examined fraud and error across government in 2021.
Conclusion
We examined fraud and error across government in 2021. We found that government had introduced many vital support schemes in response to the pandemic, but that these had substantially increased the risk of fraud and error to public finances and … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the committee's finding and states that each department is responsible for estimating fraud and error in its schemes, with estimates published in Annual Report and Accounts, indicating existing processes address the issue.
HM Treasury
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12 Conclusion Accepted
We asked HM Treasury what its current assessment of fraud and error across government was,...
Conclusion
We asked HM Treasury what its current assessment of fraud and error across government was, given the availability of the new data. HM Treasury told us that its upfront estimates on losses due to fraud and error were broadly in … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the committee's finding and states that departments are responsible for estimating fraud and error, with estimates published in Annual Report and Accounts, indicating that existing processes are in place for assessment.
HM Treasury
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13 Recommendation Not Addressed
In our report in June 2021, we recommended that HM Treasury and the Cabinet Office...
Recommendation
In our report in June 2021, we recommended that HM Treasury and the Cabinet Office set out how they would ensure that departments implemented a zero-tolerance approach to fraud and error following the pandemic and ensure taxpayers’ money was recovered.28 … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government claims the recommendation is implemented by referencing a general letter from March 2021 and discussing departmental responsibility for estimating fraud, but does not specifically detail how it ensures a zero-tolerance approach or mechanisms for recovering taxpayers' money as recommended.
HM Treasury
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14 Conclusion
The COVID-19 pandemic placed increased pressure on government departments to respond to a crisis while...
Conclusion
The COVID-19 pandemic placed increased pressure on government departments to respond to a crisis while continuing to provide their business-as-usual services. The Comptroller and Auditor General told us that the NAO had now, for the most part, completed its examination … Read more
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15 Recommendation Not Addressed
As part of our previous examination of the cost tracker in May 2021, we concluded...
Recommendation
As part of our previous examination of the cost tracker in May 2021, we concluded that government’s ability to achieve value for money was compromised during the pandemic by poor quality impact assessments and Accounting Officer assessments.33 To address this, … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government claims the recommendation is implemented by referencing a general letter from March 2021 outlining lessons and actions, which predates the specific request to review major COVID-related spending decisions for poor value for money, report findings by end of 2021, and produce guidance.
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16 Recommendation Acknowledged
We therefore asked HM Treasury what it was doing to identify and address some of...
Recommendation
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 … Read more
Government Response Summary
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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17 Conclusion Accepted
We examined the initial lessons that can be learned from government’s response to the pandemic...
Conclusion
We examined the initial lessons that can be learned from government’s response to the pandemic in June 2021 based on 20 evidence sessions on various aspects of the government’s response. In our report, we set out our views on what … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the committee's observation about the need to learn pandemic lessons promptly and states it has already outlined lessons and actions taken in a letter to the committee dated March 2021.
HM Treasury
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18 Conclusion Not Addressed
HM Treasury informed us that it had conducted a lessons learned exercise with Accounting Officers...
Conclusion
HM Treasury informed us that it had conducted a lessons learned exercise with Accounting Officers and it planned to update Managing Public Money in December
Government Response Summary
The government claims the recommendation is implemented by referencing a March 2021 letter, but this does not confirm the specific update to 'Managing Public Money' in December that HM Treasury had previously informed the Committee it planned to do.
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19 Recommendation Acknowledged
We asked HM Treasury what it was doing to ensure that, if emergency support such...
Recommendation
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 … Read more
Government Response Summary
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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