Twenty-Sixth Report - Lessons from Greensill Capital: accreditation to business support schemes

The government agrees with the conclusion but the response focuses on the Department's existing value for money assessment processes and commitment to improve future reporting transparency, rather than the Bank outlining its plan for balancing speed and value as requested.

The government's response discusses general supplier performance management, cost assurance, and risk apportionment in contracts, with a commitment to write to the Committee on these topics by May 2022, but does not address the specific recommendation for the Bank to review its accreditation process for non-bank lenders by February 2022.

The government's response discusses cost savings and project delivery within the Ministry of Defence, entirely failing to address the recommendation regarding the Bank's monitoring of funds lent under COVID-19 business support schemes.

The government agrees with the recommendation, stating the Bank has already informed the Committee of the expected completion timeframe (early months of 2022) for its Greensill investigation and will inform them again upon conclusion.

The government's response discusses defence funding, the Integrated Review, and the formation of the UK Health Security Agency, entirely failing to address the recommendation on establishing principles for correspondence with the Bank or cross-government principles for arms-length bodies.

The government agrees with the recommendation, committing to a multi-year evaluation of the COVID-19 loan schemes and aiming to publish a lessons-learned report by Summer 2022, with further evaluation reports released annually until 2024.

The government provides a detailed overview of the COVID-19 business support schemes and Greensill's involvement, acknowledging the context for the Committee's report.

The government response consists of boilerplate text listing relevant reports and does not engage with the committee's conclusion regarding the Bank's accreditation of Greensill or its due diligence process.

The government states the Bank will write to the Committee by end of February 2022, detailing accreditation processes reviewed and adjusted for the Recovery Loan Scheme, and will continue to keep these processes under review for future programmes.

The government states the Bank will write to the Committee by end of February 2022, detailing accreditation processes reviewed and adjusted prior to the launch of the Recovery Loan Scheme, and will continue to keep its accreditation process under review for future programmes.

The government acknowledges the committee's point and is updating the Shareholder Relationship Framework Document, as part of which it will consider changes regarding operational independence and departmental correspondence with the Bank. It will inform the Committee of the outcome of its considerations.

The government acknowledges the committee's point and is updating the Shareholder Relationship Framework Document, as part of which it will consider changes regarding operational independence and departmental correspondence with the Bank. It will inform the Committee of the outcome of its considerations.

The government states its Shareholder Relationship Framework Document is being updated, and consideration will be given to changes regarding operational independence for 'Service Arm' activities, with a commitment to write to the Committee on the outcome.

The government states that its Shareholder Relationship Framework Document is being updated, and consideration will be given to changes regarding operational independence for 'Service Arm' activities, with a commitment to write to the Committee on the outcome.

The government agrees with the recommendation, stating BEIS has already raised the importance of cross-government information sharing and will work with Cabinet Office and HM Treasury to develop existing processes where necessary.

The government agrees and states the recommendation is implemented. BEIS will work closely with Cabinet Office and HM Treasury to develop existing processes for sharing company information across government departments and public bodies, while respecting commercial and legal restrictions.

The government acknowledges the importance of information sharing, stating that BEIS has written to the Committee, currently facilitates data sharing, and will work closely with Cabinet Office and HM Treasury to develop existing processes where necessary.

The government acknowledges the committee's finding by reiterating the total amounts Greensill lent under CLBILS and CBILS.

The government confirms that the Bank launched an investigation in October 2020 into Greensill's compliance with CLBILS rules due to concerns over £350 million lent to GFG Alliance companies, which appeared to contravene the £50 million group lending cap.

The government acknowledges the Bank's actions, stating the loan guarantees remain suspended during the ongoing investigation and outlining the potential maximum liability if the guarantee is reinstated.

The government states the Bank has written to the Committee on 17 December 2021 and will inform them when its investigation into Greensill's lending concludes, expected in early 2022, prioritizing a thorough and informed decision.

The government agrees with the recommendation, confirming the Bank's investigation into Greensill's lending prioritises thoroughness over speed, and expects to inform the Committee of the outcome in the early months of 2022.

The government states that existing scheme rules, lender processes, and the Bank's audit assurance programme, including testing UK eligibility criteria, are in place to ensure loans support UK businesses, with measures available for non-compliance.

The government agrees and states the recommendation is implemented, explaining that existing scheme rules require loans to benefit UK operations and the British Business Bank's audit programme already tests lenders' compliance with UK eligibility criteria.

The government states it agrees with 'the recommendation' (though the item is a conclusion) and describes existing scheme rules for CBILS/CLBILS, lender control requirements, and the Bank's audit assurance programme to ensure compliance, implying these processes address concerns about loan usage and eligibility.

The government commits to learning lessons from COVID-19 loan schemes through a multi-year evaluation with reports published annually between 2022 and 2024, and aims to produce a lessons-learned report by Summer 2022.

The government's response states it agrees with 'the recommendation' and commits to a multi-year evaluation of COVID-19 loan schemes and publishing a lessons-learned report by Summer 2022, but this does not directly address the committee's conclusion outlining what the Treasury had *said* about reviewing reports.

The government agrees with the recommendation to evaluate the COVID-19 loan schemes, confirming a multi-year evaluation is underway with reports due between 2022-2024, and commits to producing an interim lessons-learned report by Summer 2022.