The £7 billion challenge facing the Covid commissioner

The new government is honouring its pre-election pledge to appoint a Covid corruption commissioner in an attempt to claw back billions that were lost to fraud during the pandemic. 

The Labour Party’s election manifesto said it would use “every means possible” to recoup taxpayers’ money that was obtained through fraud or spent on questionable contracts signed by the previous government during the pandemic.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has now confirmed that the Covid-19 commissioner will work with the health secretary, Wes Streeting, and report to her. Whoever is appointed as the commissioner will also work with HM Revenue and Customs, the National Crime Agency and the Serious Fraud Office.

In September, Rachel Reeves had promised to “chase down” firms who have ripped off the taxpayer with Covid contracts and that the new Covid commissioner will likely be appointed in October.

It is likely that whoever takes on the role of Covid commissioner will immediately face a huge workload. Their in-tray will consist of investigating how more than £7bn was lost to fraud, owing to those who viewed Covid-19 support schemes such as the Small Business Grant Fund, furlough payments and the "Eat out to help out" campaign as opportunities to make illegal gains.

The blame game over Covid fraud has been played out between the major political parties for some years now. Labour and other parties repeatedly accused the Conservative government of making poor financial decisions that often did little good for the UK while it was gripped by the pandemic. Claims of cronyism, fraud and incompetence have formed part of the dialogue relating to Covid payments since any such payments became reality.

Challenges ahead

In proceeding with appointing a Covid fraud commissioner, Labour is at least putting its money where its mouth was in the months prior to the election. It now faces two significant challenges if the promised appointment is to produce the expected results.

The first is to ensure the right person is given the job. The scale and wide-ranging, high-profile nature of the task facing the Covid commissioner make it imperative that the person appointed can manage the many practical and political demands that come with the post.

The second is to ensure that the commissioner has the necessary resources at their disposal. Following the trail of £7bn-plus will be no mean feat. Those who obtained it fraudulently did so using deceptions of varying degrees of complexity. And they have now had years in which to further cover their tracks. The commissioner – and particularly the agencies that will work alongside that person – will need to be given the manpower to do the job thoroughly if the hoped-for results are to materialise.

Taking words into action

It is now roughly a year since Rachel Reeves announced the plan for a Covid commissioner in bold terms. Reports talked of a corruption tsar as the then Shadow Chancellor stated there would be a “hit squad of investigators’’ that would have the powers needed to “chase down those who have ripped off the taxpayer’’, bring legal action against them and claw back as much money as possible.

We are now set to see whether the tough words develop into genuinely tough, effective action. Weeks before the Shadow Chancellor made that announcement, Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee had reported that a mere £20.9 million had been recovered of the £1.1 billion in small-business support loans thought to have been obtained illegally. And there are many other statistics that can be cited to convey just how huge a problem Covid fraud became.

Such statistics are why many have such high hopes for the newly-created post of Covid commissioner. There are few who doubt there is a problem that needs to be addressed, even if some may feel that a commissioner may not necessarily be the best way forward. But the hard work starts now to ensure such high hopes are not deflated – an outcome that would only further inflame the seemingly endless parliamentary Covid blame game.