Only 1% of £1.1bn lost in Covid business scheme recovered, report finds

National Audit Office urges ministers to learn lessons of losses in England resulting from fraud and error

Just 1% of the estimated 1.1bn lost from the government's Covid business support programme in England as a result of fraud and error has been recovered so far, the public spending watchdog has said in a report urging ministers to learn lessons from the scheme.

The overwhelming majority" of fraud and error occurred during the initial incarnation of the grant scheme launched in March 2020, which did not require prepayment checks, the National Audit Office (NAO) said in its report on the rushed-through efforts.