Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Conclusion 22
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)
We asked the Department if it thought about the financial sustainability of sectors as a whole, and not just of individual borrowers, when considering future insolvency projections. It confirmed that it did and cited the example of rugby union. It told us that it cared deeply about the insolvencies of rugby clubs and it had used its convening power to help with the financial sustainability of professional rugby union.55 In June 2023, it had appointed two independent advisors to work with itself, the Rugby Football Union (the national governing body for rugby union in England), the Premiership Rugby League and CVC Capital Partners, which owns a significant proportion of League assets.56 This work had resulted in the signing in September 2024 by the Rugby Football Union, Premiership Rugby League and The Rugby Players Association of a new Men’s Professional Game Partnership to create world–leading English teams and thriving professional leagues.57
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.