Newscast Where Did The Covid Fraud Cash Go?
14 snips
Dec 9, 2025 
In a thought-provoking discussion, Simon Jack, the BBC Business Editor, unravels the alarming loss of £10.9 billion to Covid fraud, shedding light on faulty data and rushed contract decisions. Michael Buchanan, a social affairs correspondent, shares Baroness Amos’s harrowing interim findings on maternity care, exposing inadequate conditions and communication failures. Lawyer Suzanne White emphasizes the need for accountability and transparency in the healthcare system, driving home the importance of addressing systemic issues for families affected by trauma.
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Scale And Source Of The Covid Losses
- The Covid support schemes exposed a £10.9bn fraud and error problem that is largely unrecoverable.
- Much of the loss came from rapid, light-touch programmes like furlough and loans designed for speed over checks.
Furlough Was The Biggest Weak Spot
- Furlough schemes accounted for the largest single chunk, about £5bn, due to employer misuse and inflated claims.
- Rapid rollout and limited verification made large-scale abuse predictable and widespread.
Build Fraud Controls Into Emergency Design
- Future emergency programmes must embed fraud prevention, better data, and inter-department cooperation from the start.
- Design trade-offs should be explicit: speed versus safeguards when releasing public funds.