Ministers don’t know if £486m pandemic traffic light system worked, say MPs

Public accounts committee says it is unknown whether cost of implementing international travel curbs was worth the disruption

At least 486m of taxpayer funds were spent on implementing the traffic light system" for international arrivals during the coronavirus pandemic. But the government does not know" whether it worked or not, according to a powerful committee of MPs.

The traffic light system set the rules for arrivals from every country depending on whether it was on the red, amber or green list. Arrivals from red list countries had to stay in a quarantine hotel for at least 10 days.