Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 20
20
Increased departmental capacity and local engagement improved later, more targeted grant schemes.
Conclusion
BEIS conducted a review of COVID-19 business grant delivery in early 2021 and then acted to increase capacity and capability within the department.43 There were improvements within the life of the COVID-19 business grants. Later stage grants were more targeted than the first grants while also being deliverable; DBT told us this change drew on closer engagement with local authorities about how things would work on the ground.44 Improvements in the guidance and required controls contributed to lower fraud and error rates in later schemes.45
Government Response
A response document is linked to this report, dated 18 November 2023. Response attribution to this conclusion has not been verified. Read the response document ↗