U.K. Lacked Economic Plan for Pandemic, Lawmaker Panel Says

(Bloomberg) -- Boris Johnson’s administration had no economic plan for a pandemic as coronavirus hit the U.K. in an “astonishing” failure of governance, a cross-party panel of lawmakers said.

Ministers didn’t consider how to deal with the economic consequences of an outbreak, despite it being identified as a top risk “for years,” the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee said in a report on Thursday.

“Pandemic planning is the bread and butter of government risk planning, but we learn it was treated solely as a health issue, with no planning for the economic impacts,” Committee Chairman Meg Hillier said in a statement. “This meant that the economic strategy was of necessity rushed and reactive.”

The report adds to a slew of criticism over the U.K.’s handling of the outbreak, including that it failed to get stocks of protective equipment to staff who needed it, went into lockdown too late, and had insufficient supplies of ventilators.

The government denied the allegations and said, with the crisis ongoing, it is not the right time to review its response to the virus. Johnson has said there will be an inquiry into the epidemic, though no date has been set.

“We regularly test our pandemic plans -- allowing us to rapidly respond to this unprecedented crisis and protect the NHS,” the cabinet office said in an emailed response to the report. “It was clear that Coronavirus would affect all areas of the country, that’s why we immediately put in place an unprecedented initial economic support package for jobs and business worth 160 billion pounds ($204 billion).”

“It was clear that Coronavirus would affect all areas of the country, that’s why we immediately put in place an unprecedented initial economic support package for jobs and business worth £160bn. The next stage in our economic response will make a further £30bn available to ensure all areas of the UK bounce back.

The panel said the Treasury waited until mid-March -- just days before the government shuttered businesses nationwide -- to devise the economic support programs it then rolled out. It also criticized a failure to plan how schools and pupils would be supported in the event of closures.

Hillier said a lack of planning meant the Treasury’s initial reaction was to deploy “a one-size fits all response that’s leaving people -- and whole sectors of the economy -- behind.”

A second panel of Parliamentarians urged Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak to reconsider his decision to “draw a line” under the unprecedented financial assistance he has extended to 12 million workers. The Treasury Committee said more than a million people hadn’t qualified for help from the chancellor’s support programs.

“Despite stating that he will not pick winners and losers when it comes to sectors and businesses that need support, the chancellor has done this when it comes to households and individuals,” Treasury Committee Chairman Mel Stride said. The government “cannot just turn its back on those who are suffering.”

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