COVID-19: Government Not As Prepared As It Could Have Been For A Pandemic, Says National Audit Office Report | UK News

The government was not as prepared for the pandemic as it could have been, according to its own spending monitoring system.

A report from the National Audit Office (NAO) found that officials “lacked detailed contingency plans to deal with the unfolding situation” when it began early last year.

Going forward, officials should make better use of data, improve the resilience of key services and take a better approach to preparing for crises, the NAO said.

However, he said there were also examples of “impressive” national and local responses, such as the successful vaccine go out.

More than 127,000 people in the UK have died within 28 days of a COVID-19[female[feminine test and more than four million have contracted the virus.

The prime minister last week announced a public inquiry into the government’s handling of the pandemic, a result bereaved families and opposition lawmakers have been calling for for months.

Boris Johnson said the investigation, which is expected to begin in the spring of next year, would put “state actions under the microscope.”

The NAO report is not the first to conclude that the UK was not sufficiently prepared for a pandemic.

Last year it was revealed a whitehall secret document produced in 2017 warned that the government’s plans to deal with a health pandemic were “not enough”.

He said contingencies put in place in the event of an outbreak would not be able to cope and concerns were also raised about whether the social protection system could provide the level of support needed.

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The latest NAO report also raised concerns about how the pandemic has exacerbated inequalities.

Nearly two million people have not worked for at least six months as long-term leave has become a widespread consequence of the pandemic, according to a Resolution Foundation study.

The…