Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 28
28
The Bank told us that it will closely evaluate its COVID-19 business support schemes, including...
Conclusion
The Bank told us that it will closely evaluate its COVID-19 business support schemes, including assessing whether there were things it would need “to do differently” with the accreditation processes going forward and more specifically whether there could have been better engagement with regulators as part of the accreditation process. The Bank said that it would be a “fruitful theme” to have discussions with development banks that have also been delivering similar schemes through the pandemic. The Treasury also agreed that it would conduct evaluations of all of the schemes, so that it could draw conclusions and build on what it had learned for the next time there needed to be an “extraordinary state intervention to deal with some market failure or other problem”.81 As we have previously highlighted, it is important that these evaluations are carried out as soon as possible after the event, otherwise there is a risk that departments learn lessons too late and repeat the same mistakes.82 80 Qq 161–162 81 Qq 32, 161–163 82 Committee of Public Accounts, COVID-19: Support for children’s education, Third Report of Session 2021–22, HC 240, 20 May 2021; Committee of Public Accounts, Initial lessons from the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Thirteenth Report of the Session 2021–22, HC 175, 25 July 2021 20 Lessons from Greensill Capital: accreditation to business support schemes
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
7.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Summer 2022 7.2 The government is committed to building on the experience of the COVID-19 loan schemes, which were designed and delivered in the response to extraordinary economic circumstances brought about by the coronavirus pandemic. The government recognises the importance of learning lessons from these schemes to ensure it is as well-positioned as possible to deal with any future economic crisis that might require extraordinary state intervention. 7.3 This will be achieved principally through the full, multi-year evaluation of the schemes, which is being conducted by London Economics and Ipsos MORI. Reports will be published in due course, in line with usual government guidelines. The exact timings will depend on how the evaluation progresses operationally, but it is intended that results will be published no later than Quarter 1 of each year between 2022 and 2024. 7.4 In the meantime, the government will aim to produce a lessons-learned report by Summer 2022. This will draw on any early insights from the evaluation.