Government lacked contingency plans for pandemic

The National Audit Office has said that the UK was not as prepared for the pandemic as it could have been, and government lacked detailed contingency plans to manage the unfolding situation.

The organisation’s latest report draws out the initial learning from work examining the government’s response to coronavirus to help ministers evaluate its performance, capitalise on new ways of working and better manage potential future emergencies.

While the NAO recognises the examples of impressive national and local responses to the urgent need for healthcare and economic support, it stresses how the pandemic has highlighted the importance of government adopting a more systematic approach to preparing for crises, improving the resilience of key services and making better use of data.

It says that working at pace naturally introduces greater levels of risk, but being transparent, properly documenting decisions and managing conflicts of interest is essential if the government is to maintain public trust that taxpayers’ money is being spent appropriately and fairly.

Gareth Davies, the head of the NAO, said: “Covid-19 has required government to respond to an exceptionally challenging and rapidly changing threat. There is much to learn from the successes and failures in government’s response and this report is our initial contribution to that process. Applying these lessons is not only important for the remaining phases of the current pandemic but should also help better prepare the UK for future emergencies.”

The NAO also urged ministers to come up with ideas to prevent widening inequality caused by the pandemic.