Pandemic lessons “cannot wait for Government inquiry” with massive taxpayer exposure & “unacceptably high waste”

Pandemic lessons “cannot wait for Government inquiry” with massive taxpayer exposure & “unacceptably high waste” In two reports, the Public Accounts Committee says the UK Government’s response to the pandemic has exposed the taxpayer to “significant financial risks for decades to come”, with the estimated lifetime cost of the government’s measures reaching £372 billion in May 2021.

The total value of government-backed loans has increased greatly during the crisis, with the taxpayer already on the hook for an estimated £26 billion of credit and fraud losses in the SME bounce back loan scheme.

 

See also:

• Government wasted £2.1bn on PPE that was useless, says new report The Daily Telegraph
• Britain faces ‘decades of financial risk’ as £370bn pandemic bill mounts The Guardian