COVID-19: UK will be exposed to financial risks for decades due to its pandemic spending

British government will be exposed to financial risks for deces from its 372 billion pound pandemic spending, according to lawmakers’ reports on Sunday. In two discreet reports, Public Accounts Committee (PAC) disclosed that approximately two billion pounds have been spent only on unusable protective equipment. This gigantic spending, as per committee, poses multiple risks to taxpayers and businesses. As an example of ongoing financial risks, PAC highlighted an estimated loss of 26 billion pounds through fraud and repayment default from loans handed to businesses to help cope with pandemic.

'Eye-watering sums' of money

In dendum, parliamentary committee also asserted that Boris Johnson ministration needs to learn lessons and rectify its mistakes before a formal inquiry into same could be held in 2022. "With eye-watering sums of money spent on COVID measures so far government needs to be clear, w, how this will be mand going forward, and over what period of time," Meg Hillier, PAC chair, said.

" ongoing risk to taxpayer will run for 20 years on things like arts and culture recovery loans, let alone or new risks that departments across government must quickly learn to man,” it ded.

In a second report, PAC highlighted that re h also been "unacceptably high" levels of wasteful spending during period of pandemic. It is imperative to te that amidst plunging revenue, Boris Johnson ministration borrowed a whopping 299 billion pounds during first year of pandemic, that is, from April 2020 to 2021. According to BBC, figure is expected to be less this financial year, but still, it would be more than 200 billion.

Elaborating furr on government’s unnecessary spending, PAC said nearly 2.1 billion items of unsuitable personal protective equipment (PPE) were purchased, equating to more than 2 billion pounds of public money. But, officials defended it saying that only 0.84 per cent of all PPE h been found to be unusable and that it plans to “repurpose” all equipment which cant be used as health equipment.

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