Recommendations & Conclusions
27 items
2
Conclusion
Thirteenth Report - Initial lessons fro…
Government’s ability to make well-informed decisions and address issues as they arise during the pandemic has been hampered by slow progress in addressing longstanding issues with data and legacy IT. We have repeatedly highlighted longstanding data issues within government, including the lack of data standards, ageing IT systems, fragmented leadership, …
Government response. 2: PAC conclusion: Government’s ability to make well-informed decisions and address issues as they arise during the pandemic has been hampered by slow progress in addressing longstanding issues with data and legacy IT. 2a: PAC recommendation: HM Treasury and the …
HM Treasury
3
Conclusion
Thirteenth Report - Initial lessons fro…
Government risks undermining public trust and accountability for the pandemic response because of departments’ repeated failure to provide a full rationale for key decisions. We recognise that the pandemic has required departments to work at speed in difficult circumstances. But, as we have found in our previous examinations of the …
Government response. 3: PAC conclusion: Government risks undermining public trust and accountability for the pandemic response because of departments’ repeated failure to provide a full rationale for key decisions. 3: PAC recommendation: The Department should update us by 31 October 2021 on …
HM Treasury
4
Conclusion
Thirteenth Report - Initial lessons fro…
A lack of clarity, timeliness and the volume of government communications has, at times, hindered the public’s understanding of guidelines and ability to comply with them. Government published a large amount of guidance during the early stages of the pandemic. Some departments, for example HM Revenue & Customs, developed effective, …
Government response. 4: PAC conclusion: A lack of clarity, timeliness and the volume of government communications has, at times, hindered the public’s understanding of guidelines and ability to comply with them. 4: PAC recommendation: The Cabinet Office should write to us by …
HM Treasury
5
Conclusion
Thirteenth Report - Initial lessons fro…
Government has yet to improve its approach to managing risk or set out which trade-offs it intends to make in future emergencies. The pandemic has highlighted the importance of carrying out robust risk planning and being clear about risk appetite and risk tolerance. Government lacked pre-existing plans for many aspects …
Government response. 1. The BBC appears complacent about the threat it faces from declining audiences. Each year people spend less time watching BBC TV and 200,000 more households choose to opt out of paying for the licence fee. Yet when pressed, the …
HM Treasury
6
Conclusion
Thirteenth Report - Initial lessons fro…
Government needs to do more to support the health and social care workforce, who have been under constant pressure during the pandemic, to ensure its resilience going forward. The pandemic has compounded pre-existing challenges in the health and social care sectors. In February 2020, the NHS had about 40,000 nursing …
Government response. 6: PAC conclusion: Government needs to do more to support the health and social care workforce, who have been under constant pressure during the pandemic, to ensure its resilience going forward. 6: PAC recommendation: The Department should write to us …
HM Treasury
1
Conclusion
Thirteenth Report - Initial lessons fro…
On the basis of a Report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Cabinet Office, the Department of Health & Social Care (the Department) and HM Treasury on initial lessons from the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.1
Government response. Introduction from the Committee The scale and nature of the COVID-19 pandemic and the government’s response are unprecedented in recent history. By the end of March 2021, the estimated lifetime cost of measures announced as part of the government’s response …
HM Treasury
7
Conclusion
Thirteenth Report - Initial lessons fro…
We asked the Department how much PPE it expected to need over the next 12 months. The Department estimated that it will require around 11.7 billion items of PPE from 1 June 2021 to 31 May 2022, although it noted that this estimate was highly uncertain. As of 17 May, …
HM Treasury
8
Conclusion
Thirteenth Report - Initial lessons fro…
We have repeatedly highlighted the longstanding funding and workforce challenges facing the health and social care sectors. In 2018 we examined the adult social care workforce in England and reported that levels of unmet social care need were high and rising, while staff turnover was as high as 27.8% and …
Government response. 6: PAC conclusion: Government needs to do more to support the health and social care workforce, who have been under constant pressure during the pandemic, to ensure its resilience going forward. 6: PAC recommendation: The Department should write to us …
HM Treasury
9
Conclusion
Thirteenth Report - Initial lessons fro…
The pandemic placed great stress on some health and social care workers already under pressure. In our report Readying the NHS and social care for the COVID-19 peak, we found that thanks to the commitment of thousands of staff and volunteers and by postponing a large amount of planned work, …
Government response. 6: PAC conclusion: Government needs to do more to support the health and social care workforce, who have been under constant pressure during the pandemic, to ensure its resilience going forward. 6: PAC recommendation: The Department should write to us …
HM Treasury
10
Conclusion
Thirteenth Report - Initial lessons fro…
In our July 2020 report on Readying the NHS and social care for the COVID-19 peak, we recommended that the Department and NHS England and NHS Improvement (NHSE&I) should identify and agree with relevant professional bodies specific actions to support health and social care staff to recover from the impact …
Government response. 6: PAC conclusion: Government needs to do more to support the health and social care workforce, who have been under constant pressure during the pandemic, to ensure its resilience going forward. 6: PAC recommendation: The Department should write to us …
HM Treasury
11
Conclusion
Thirteenth Report - Initial lessons fro…
The Department has yet to publish a long-term plan to improve the resilience of the health and social care workforce. Our NHS nursing workforce report, published in September 2020, noted that there had been further delay to the overdue NHS People Plan, which was originally due to be published in …
Government response. 6: PAC conclusion: Government needs to do more to support the health and social care workforce, who have been under constant pressure during the pandemic, to ensure its resilience going forward. 6: PAC recommendation: The Department should write to us …
HM Treasury
12
Conclusion
Thirteenth Report - Initial lessons fro…
We have repeatedly highlighted longstanding issues with the quality of data held by government and with its ability to use data effectively to support policy interventions. In our 2019 report Challenges in using data across government, we noted the lack of government-wide data standards, ageing IT systems, fragmented leadership, and …
Government response. 2: PAC conclusion: Government’s ability to make well-informed decisions and address issues as they arise during the pandemic has been hampered by slow progress in addressing longstanding issues with data and legacy IT. 2a: PAC recommendation: HM Treasury and the …
HM Treasury
13
Conclusion
Thirteenth Report - Initial lessons fro…
The pandemic has again highlighted the role of high-quality data in enabling effective service delivery, monitoring and improvement. For example, due to missing or inaccurate telephone numbers within NHS patient records, the shielding programme was unable to follow-up letters to 375,000 vulnerable people with phone calls. Local authorities, which were …
Government response. 2: PAC conclusion: Government’s ability to make well-informed decisions and address issues as they arise during the pandemic has been hampered by slow progress in addressing longstanding issues with data and legacy IT. 2a: PAC recommendation: HM Treasury and the …
HM Treasury
14
Conclusion
Thirteenth Report - Initial lessons fro…
All of the witnesses highlighted the importance of data in responding to the pandemic and acknowledged a key lesson from the last year was the need to improve the quality of data available to citizens and to government, including the quality and granularity of regional economic data, and improving the …
Government response. 2: PAC conclusion: Government’s ability to make well-informed decisions and address issues as they arise during the pandemic has been hampered by slow progress in addressing longstanding issues with data and legacy IT. 2a: PAC recommendation: HM Treasury and the …
HM Treasury
15
Conclusion
Thirteenth Report - Initial lessons fro…
The NAO found that the pandemic had disproportionately impacted specific groups of people. For example, disrupted schooling is likely to have longer-term adverse effects on children from disadvantaged backgrounds. The Education Endowment Foundation predicted that schools closures in the 2019/20 academic year could widen the attainment gap between disadvantaged children …
HM Treasury
16
Conclusion
Thirteenth Report - Initial lessons fro…
In responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, government departments and public bodies have needed to procure enormous volumes of goods, services and works with extreme urgency. Our report on Government procurement and supply of PPE found that, by the end of July 2020, government had awarded over 8,000 contracts for goods …
HM Treasury
17
Conclusion
Thirteenth Report - Initial lessons fro…
Our February 2021 report found that for fast procurements where there is no competition, it is important that awarding bodies document why they have chosen a supplier and how any associated risks from a lack of competition have been identified and managed, and that transparency also helps to ensure accountability …
HM Treasury
18
Conclusion
Thirteenth Report - Initial lessons fro…
We received written evidence from the Royal Statistical Society, from Northumbria University on behalf of the Observatory for Monitoring Data-Driven Approaches to COVID-19, and from Civitas: Institute for the Study of Civil Society. This emphasised the need for government to be more transparent in publishing the data and rationale behind …
Government response. 3: PAC conclusion: Government risks undermining public trust and accountability for the pandemic response because of departments’ repeated failure to provide a full rationale for key decisions. 3: PAC recommendation: The Department should update us by 31 October 2021 on …
HM Treasury
19
Conclusion
Thirteenth Report - Initial lessons fro…
Our previous work has shown a mixed picture in terms of the views of end users regarding the satisfaction and success of programmes introduced in response to the pandemic. Gathering feedback from end users and frontline workers is vital for monitoring the effectiveness of interventions and improving existing processes.41 We …
HM Treasury
20
Conclusion
Thirteenth Report - Initial lessons fro…
We have previously highlighted the danger that reluctance to evaluate COVID-19 measures will result in departments learning lessons too late and embedding problems of design, delivery and effectiveness of response schemes which will need to adapt over time.43 HM Treasury told us that for the government’s major support schemes, it …
HM Treasury
21
Conclusion
Thirteenth Report - Initial lessons fro…
Government published a large amount of guidance during the early stages of the pandemic. The NAO found that effective communication and public engagement are crucial to ensuring that COVID-19 response programmes succeed. Some departments, such as HM Revenue & Customs, developed clear and consistent communications and engagement plans for initiatives …
Government response. 4: PAC conclusion: A lack of clarity, timeliness and the volume of government communications has, at times, hindered the public’s understanding of guidelines and ability to comply with them. 4: PAC recommendation: The Cabinet Office should write to us by …
HM Treasury
22
Conclusion
Thirteenth Report - Initial lessons fro…
Written evidence from Birmingham City University, which analysed a large body of government’s and public health bodies’ Twitter messages relating to COVID-19, identified a wide range of language-related issues in communications. These included: messages without specific content; a lack of clarity about who messages were directed to; the use of …
Government response. 4: PAC conclusion: A lack of clarity, timeliness and the volume of government communications has, at times, hindered the public’s understanding of guidelines and ability to comply with them. 4: PAC recommendation: The Cabinet Office should write to us by …
HM Treasury
23
Conclusion
Thirteenth Report - Initial lessons fro…
We asked the Cabinet Office about recent communications about travel in and out of local areas. On 14 May 2021, the GOV.UK website advised the public against travel out of areas with high levels of the delta variant of the virus, including Bolton, Blackburn with Darwen and Kirklees. This led …
Government response. 4: PAC conclusion: A lack of clarity, timeliness and the volume of government communications has, at times, hindered the public’s understanding of guidelines and ability to comply with them. 4: PAC recommendation: The Cabinet Office should write to us by …
HM Treasury
24
Conclusion
Thirteenth Report - Initial lessons fro…
The pandemic has highlighted the importance of carrying out robust risk planning and being clear about risk appetite and risk tolerance. Our previous work, including on support for children’s education during the pandemic and on the Bounce Bank Loans Scheme, has found that the government lacked pre-existing plans for many …
Government response. 5: PAC conclusion: Government has yet to improve its approach to managing risk or set out which trade-offs it intends to make in future emergencies. 5: PAC recommendation: The Cabinet Office should, by 31 October 2021, write to us detailing …
HM Treasury
25
Conclusion
Thirteenth Report - Initial lessons fro…
Our recent report on fraud and error highlighted that the taxpayer is expected to lose billions of pounds from the increased risk of fraud and error in the government’s COVID-19 schemes. It found that the cost of fraud and error within the tax and benefits system is fairly well understood …
HM Treasury
26
Conclusion
Thirteenth Report - Initial lessons fro…
The NAO found that government had made other trade-offs during the pandemic, for example paying higher prices for goods than it would have paid before the pandemic.55 It also had to balance the risks to the economy of enacting lockdowns and other restrictions with the risks to public health of …
Government response. 5: PAC conclusion: Government has yet to improve its approach to managing risk or set out which trade-offs it intends to make in future emergencies. 5: PAC recommendation: The Cabinet Office should, by 31 October 2021, write to us detailing …
HM Treasury
27
Conclusion
Thirteenth Report - Initial lessons fro…
In May 2021, the government published the Boardman review into government procurement during the COVID-19 pandemic. It aimed to understand what lessons the government could learn from the procurement of PPE, ventilators, vaccines, test and trace and food parcels for the clinically extremely vulnerable to be better equipped to meet …
Government response. 5: PAC conclusion: Government has yet to improve its approach to managing risk or set out which trade-offs it intends to make in future emergencies. 5: PAC recommendation: The Cabinet Office should, by 31 October 2021, write to us detailing …
HM Treasury