A dedicated department for tackling Covid business support fraud should be set up - The Yorkshire Post says

But the report by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) showing that the Government has been slow to take action to recover losses to error and fraud in COVID grant schemes of over £1bn highlights a worrying lack of appetite for the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) to recover losses.

The absence of probity before many grants were issued is a worrying failure in itself. And people would expect that a Government that has long championed financial prudence would show more zeal in recovering lost money.

This is public money. It was meant to intervene during a crisis. And there are many who have subsequently suffered from the after effects of the pandemic. Therefore the public, which sacrificed a lot, deserves answers.

Yet how much money was spent that might not have been needed or impact achieved by £22.6bn provided to businesses is still unknown.

Department for Business and Trade (DBT) officials say that checking payments is very expensive, there are legal questions about the ability to recover some payments, and it will be “incredibly hard” to recover much of the losses.

The sight of desperate people on respirators gasping for breath was one that haunted the whole nation and the Government’s response, a nationwide lockdown backed by unprecedented financial support, was understandable.

But the Government should not be waving the white flag when it comes to Covid business support fraud.

Instead there should be a dedicated department for Covid funding recovery that ensures public money is properly accounted for.