Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 11
11
We challenged HM Treasury on why several departments are not able to provide the NAO...
Conclusion
We challenged HM Treasury on why several departments are not able to provide the NAO with a complete assessment of the costs and spend of their COVID-related activity. We heard how there are measures for which estimating the lifetime cost is difficult because of a lack of evidence upon which to base cost estimates, and how some departments have concentrated on the quality of estimates rather than producing more timely, but rougher, 7 Qq 1, 2 8 Qq 3, 14 9 Q 1 10 Qq 3, 4, 6, 7 11 Qq 12, 13 12 Qq 5, 16, 17, 22 10 COVID 19: Cost Tracker Update estimates. HM Treasury drew attention to two groups of government measures where evidence is lacking: those measures that have yet to start, and those that relate to tax where the effect has not yet been seen. There are measures where the cost will depend on take- up, and that in turn will depend on the progress of the pandemic, for example the cost of the testing programme. HM Treasury expects the estimated total cost of the pandemic to change over time and expressed confidence that it would have a much clearer assessment of the total cost of the pandemic within the next 12 months.13
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
2.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation Recommendation implemented 2.2 HM Treasury has continued to work closely with departments to develop robust methodologies for identifying and capturing the cost of COVID-19 in support of the latest publication of the cost tracker. The quality of the data has improved in the September 2021 update following this continued collaboration. 2.3 The government set out its spending plans and choices up to 2024-25 in the Autumn Budget and Spending Review 2021 document. This included a comprehensive recovery plan. As part of the Spending Review 2021 process, departments provided HM Treasury with information on costings of interventions to support the response to, and recovery from, the COVID-19 pandemic, including an assessment of the strategic, economic, commercial, financial and management cases for investment through supporting business cases. This process prioritised building back better from COVID-19 by investing in public services, jobs and growth, and the transition to Net Zero. This included providing funding for services most affected by COVID-19 – such as the health and education systems – to continue to respond to the impacts of the virus.