In the government’s Coronavirus Job Retention scheme, known as the furlough scheme, an estimated £5.3 billion ($7.21 billion) was lost to fraud and error, the report said. The report added that the loss accounted for 8.7% of the total amount distributed Xinhua news agency reported.
“The lack of preparation and planning, combined with weaknesses in the government’s existing systems, has resulted in zero levels of error, waste, loss, and loopholes for scammers.” acceptable, all of which will cost current and future taxpayers billions of pounds.” Meg Hillier, who chaired the committee.
Hillier added that taxpayers could expect to pay the cost of the Covid-19 response over the next 20 years.
According to a report by the National Audit Office in its September 2021 update, the UK government has spent £261 billion ($355 billion) on pandemic response measures.
Source: IANS
