Recommendation 14

HM Treasury used the example of vaccines development to explain how government took on necessary risk, in this case to develop vaccines much more quickly than would usually have been the case. The rapid development of a vaccine was central to dealing with the pandemic and recovering from it, and there was strong public interest in supporting it. Government set up the Vaccines Taskforce to create momentum and get ahead in the vaccines programme, in conditions of considerable uncertainty that required difficult judgments, for example around pricing. HM Treasury provided advice that maintained a focus on value and good financial practice, in the context of it being a critical national priority to make rapid progress on the vaccines programme.19