josh martinbusiness reporter
getty imagesTaxpayers have lost almost £11 billion in COVID-19 support programs due to fraud and error, a report says.
The BBC understands Covid Counter Fraud Commissioner Tom Hayhoe will say fraudsters took advantage of a “golden opportunity” when he shares his findings with MPs this week.
Covid-era policies introduced by the previous Conservative government include furlough wage subsidies, ‘bounce-back’ loans, the Eat Out to Help Out program and one-off grants.
He was credited with steering the economy throughout the Covid lockdown, however, there has been criticism that the speed of rolling out financial aid and the lack of eligibility checks led to widespread error and fraud.
Mr Hayhoe’s final report is expected to reveal the full scale of Covid-19 financial fraud when it is shared with MPs on Tuesday.
The report is expected to highlight the lack of anti-fraud controls in Covid schemes hastily set up by ministers in Boris Johnson’s government and be blamed for the huge figure.
The hasty rollout meant “accepting a high level of fraud risk, without a plan to manage or mitigate this risk”.
Details of the report were first published by the Sunday Mirror.
In September the government launched a voluntary repayment scheme for people and businesses to pay back the pandemic scheme money, with no questions asked until the end of December.
Mr Hayhoe has been tasked by Chancellor Rachel Reeves with using his experience in procurement as a former chair of an NHS trust to recover public money lost due to fraud and poorly performing contracts.
Their previous reports found that pandemic-era PPE contracts cost the British taxpayer £1.4 billion on undelivered contracts and unused gowns, masks and gloves.
Only a small fraction of that – £182 million – has been recovered by HM Treasury.
The National Crime Agency is conducting a separate investigation into possible criminal offenses committed in the PPE procurement system.
