Permanent secretaries 'not aware of any economic planning for a pandemic'
by Rajeev Syal from on (#54MRJ)
Two senior civil servants say Whitehall did not devise economic plan after 2016 simulation
Two of the government's most powerful civil servants have said they were not aware of any attempt to make economic preparations for a possible global pandemic in the years leading up to the coronavirus outbreak.
Sir Tom Scholar and Alex Chisholm, the permanent secretaries in the Treasury and the Cabinet Office respectively, confirmed that although the government simulated an international flu outbreak in 2016, Whitehall did not devise a plan for dealing with the consequences for the economy.
Related: What was Exercise Cygnus and what did it find?
Continue reading...