Ministers order officials to get down cost and time of public inquiries as Covid probe bill soars
MINISTERS are ordering officials to get future public inquiry costs down, as estimates show the Covid probe will cost taxpayers £227million.
They want victims to get answers much faster from hearings.
Cabinet Office chief Pat McFadden has told officials to draw up options.
Labour MPs said he was “taken aback” by how long the bloated Covid inquiry was taking compared to other countries.
The Cabinet Office minister told them he wants “quicker justice for victims so it doesn’t take years and cost a fortune to get them the answers they deserve”.
A Labour MP told The Sun on Sunday: “It’s outrageous how much the Covid inquiry is costing and how long it’s taking. It hasn’t even taken evidence from people who made billions from PPE.”
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The inquiry, launched in June 2022, is set to continue hearing evidence into March 2026 with the next report scheduled for Autumn.
In comparison, Sweden’s Covid inquiry reported in February 2022.
New figures by the TaxPayers’ Alliance estimate the UK’s probe is costing £158,269 a day, making it the most expensive inquiry in British history.
John O’Connell, chief executive of TPA, called on ministers to look at slapping a spending cap on the inquiry.
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He said: "Five years on from the pandemic and yet Brits are still waiting on the Covid inquiry to wrap up, in what is a damning indictment of the speed and agility of the British state.”
Last year a House of Lords report found public inquiries take too long and often do not lead to change.
A spokesperson for the UK Covid-19 Inquiry dismissed the TPA’s projections saying they had spent £160.4million so far.
They added: “The inquiry is moving quickly to learn lessons and better protect the UK.”
Officials are set to begin its latest set of hearings on test, trace and isolate next week.