Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Conclusion 12
20th Report - DCMS management of COVID-19 loans
Published 2 Apr 2025
Addressed to HM Treasury
Public Accounts Committee DCMS management of COVID-19 loans All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
The Department planned to have the original data platform in place in March 2023. However, the loan management system only went live in June 2024, 15 months later than originally planned. The Department’s decision to increase the scope of PwC’s work to develop the system contributed to it taking longer to deliver.23 It launched the system in June 2024 on the basis that it had in place the key operational functionality needed. However, Arts 16 Letter from DCMS Permanent Secretary, 25 February 2025; C&AG’s Report, paras 10 and 2.7 17 Qq 59, 61–63; C&AG’s Report, paras 10 and 2.7 18 Q 62; C&AG’s Report, paras 10 and 2.7 19 Qq 56–58, 61, 64; C&AG’s Report, para 1.16; 20 Qq 53, 64, 69 21 Q 68 22 Qq 61, 72, 84; Letter from DCMS Permanent Secretary, 25 February 2025 23 Q 53; C&AG’s Report, paras 10 and 2.8 11 Council England was concerned that the system was not providing the full functionality needed, with loan agents having to maintain their own spreadsheets that the system was meant to replace.24 In response, the Department told us that it was sometimes the case that there was a learning and testing period when new systems are launched, and that there should not be the need now for the kind of duplication involved in maintaining separate spreadsheets.25
From: Public Accounts Committee, 20th Report - DCMS management of COVID-19 loans (HC 364), 2 April 2025
Government response
Latest Treasury Minutes progress report to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Twentieth Report of Session 2024-26
The government responded to the whole report on 4 June 2026.
Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Twentieth report from Session 2024-25
Published 10 July 2025.
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government agrees with the Committee's recommendations on loan book management, the loan management system, long-term options, repayment forecasts, borrower management and borrower engagement, but disagrees with the recommendation on rugby union accountability.
- On long-term options, the government agrees and says a strategic review, to be completed in 2025-26, will assess options "including, but not limited to, a sale or partial sale of the loan book".
- On repayment estimates, the government agrees, with a target date of December 2025. It says further cost, repayment and insolvency modelling will be done through its strategic review.
- On the PwC contract, the government agrees and says the full loan management system functionality was implemented in March 2025 "for under £300,000". The PwC contract has been extended for a further year.
- On rugby union accountability, the government disagrees with the recommendation. It "continues to believe" accountability is best achieved by a Director General within the department as Additional Accounting Officer, rather than a Permanent Secretary from another department.