Covid-19 inquiry live: Rishi Sunak faces questions on the goverment’s pandemic response | Covid inquiry
important events
Sunak said officials knew the outbreak would create an “economic shock” but understood these effects would be “temporary”.
The former chancellor told the Covid-19 inquiry:
I think our initial understanding was that this would take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. What we focused on doing was ensuring that the temporary shock did not lead to serious long-term economic consequences.
Sunak said speed was “crucial”, saying it was “something that clearly shows this is happening very quickly” and would have an “extraordinary impact” on millions of people across the country.
The UK’s response to Covid was “too little, too late”, a damning official report into its handling of the pandemic has revealed. He said even imposing the lockdown a week early could have saved more than 20,000 lives.
The document criticized the “toxic and chaotic” culture in Boris Johnson’s Downing Street; the then prime minister was said to have actively embraced it. You can find more information about the finding here.
Sunak says he has no ‘toolkit’ to deal with pandemic and is surprised to be elected chancellor
Sunak, who was appointed chief secretary to the Treasury in July 2019, admitted he did not have “a lot of time in this context” when he was appointed chancellor.
“Frankly, I was very new to senior government. “It was a surprise when I was elected chancellor in mid-February,” Sunak said.
He said his “immediate task” was to prepare a budget “within a few weeks.”
Sunak described the investigation as follows:
Given the events that unfolded over the next few days, weeks, months, it turned out to be one of the easiest things I had to do, and things were moving very quickly at that moment. In other words, even during budget preparations, it was clear that the events in the pandemic were escalating.
Sunak added that there was no “toolkit” for dealing with the pandemic amid a huge amount of uncertainty, including what the public’s behavioral response will be and the potential economic impact of lockdowns.
“There was no playbook that you could pull off the shelf that said you tend to deal with pandemics the same way you deal with other economic shocks or financial shocks.”
Sunak will be asked today about a range of topics including preparedness, the economic shock facing the country, funding for devolved administrations, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, the self-employed income support scheme, the economic impact of Long Covid, loans and the increase in both universal credit and working tax credits.
This is Sunak’s second appearance at the Covid inquiry.
Sunak confirmed his appointment as chancellor on 13 February 2020. He says he looks forward to giving evidence today and expresses his condolences to everyone who has lost loved ones to Covid during the pandemic. He said the inquiry should help Britain prepare for the future.
Covid inquiry begins with Sunak grilled on economic response to pandemic
The hearing at Dorland House in central London, where the Covid investigation is being held, has just begun.
You can also watch the broadcast of today’s hearing in this stream added at the top of the blog. We expect Sunak to appear in about ten minutes:
Covid investigation, According to IFSThe project, which starts construction in 2022, is likely to cost in excess of £200 million and its final report is not expected until 2027.
It covers decision-making by the UK government and governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland on a range of issues, including procurement, the care sector, children and young people, vaccines and the impact of the pandemic on the healthcare system.
Rishi Sunak will be grilled on the government’s economic response (module 9).
Just under 227,000 people in the UK died between March 2020 and May 2023 with Covid-19 listed as one of the causes on death certificates.
The pandemic caused a severe recession with a huge drop in GDP during the first national lockdown in 2020.
Under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, known as the holiday, the government subsidized the wages of workers affected by the pandemic as sectors such as hospitality, nightclubs and the travel industry closed to prevent the spread of the virus.
This massive level of government intervention involved around 11.7 million jobs between March 2020 and September 2021, at a cost of around £70bn.
The Covid inquiry has previously heard that furloughs are estimated to directly protect four million jobs across the UK workforce.
The Treasury estimates the government’s total spending across all support measures is £373bn.
Rishi Sunak to face questions over economic impact of Covid outbreak
Former British prime minister, Rishi AltarHe will give evidence at today’s Covid-19 inquiry examining the government’s economic response to the pandemic.
Sunak, who was chancellor at the height of the epidemic, previously defended the “eating out” plan he introduced in the summer of 2020 and said it prevented job losses.
He denied that the £850m policy giving restaurants a government-funded £10 rebate was leading to a second wave of Covid infections. research It showed that while the economic benefits of the plan were short-lived, it resulted in an increase of between 8% and 17%.
Sunak is expected to be questioned between 10.30am and 4.30pm (including the lunch break), so stay tuned as we bring you the latest developments. We will be adding a feed at the top of the blog shortly.
