Select committee: Treasury Committee
Conclusion 17
Eighth Report: Economic impact of coronavirus: the challenges of recovery
Published 11 Sep 2020
Paragraph 138
Addressed to HM Treasury
Treasury Committee Economic impact of coronavirus All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
We welcome initiatives by the ONS to improve the quality of its regional data, for instance by producing quarterly regional GDP figures. The Treasury publishing regional data in its March Budget is also a good first step towards increasing the profile of regional data. Such data will be vital in the wake of the crisis to assess the impact on different regions and sectors. While the OBR’s and Bank’s remits are primarily national, showing regional variations can enrich users’ understanding of the economy and enable policy makers to better understand the differentiated impact of the coronavirus on various regions and sectors of the UK economy and how best to implement and measure the Government’s “levelling up” strategy.
From: Treasury Committee, Eighth Report: Economic impact of coronavirus: the challenges of recovery (HC 271), paragraph 138, 11 September 2020
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 20 November 2020 (deadline 11 November 2020).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The Treasury's response sets out the support measures and positions it has taken on the Committee's recommendations, accepting some points, declining others and deferring several to later announcements.
- On recapitalising SMEs, the government has considered proposals including contingent tax liabilities and student loan type structures, but remains "of the view that accredited lenders, not the government, are best placed" to support borrowers repaying government-guaranteed loans.
- On the OBR and levelling up, the government points to the OBR's "clearly defined mandate" and to past reviews recommending "caution" about expanding it, rather than proposing a change.
- On a roadmap to fiscal sustainability, the government will set out further details, including a revised fiscal framework, "in due course, as the economic and fiscal outlook becomes clearer".
- On updating its COVID-19 distributional analysis, the government has "taken note and will consider doing so at an appropriate point", citing difficulties producing it to the same quality across wider characteristics.