Covid-19: Northern Ireland's pandemic response cost tops £6.2bn

At £1.06bn Stormont's Department of Health has incurred the highest costs during the pandemic

The cost of responding to Covid-19 in Northern Ireland has risen to more than £6.2bn, according to a new Audit Office report.

The report by Comptroller and Auditor General Kieran Donnelly estimated that the cost to Stormont was £3.9bn.

The cost of Westminster schemes which apply to Northern Ireland was £2.3bn at March 31 2021.

That includes £1.5 billion covering the cost of the furlough scheme in Northern Ireland.

Mr Donnelly said three quarters of the total Stormont Executive spend was across three departments:

• £1.06bn by the Department of Health working at the front line;

• £1.03bn by the Department of Finance, offering rate reliefs for individuals and businesses;

• £0.95bn by the Department for the Economy offering support to local businesses.

Kieran Donnelly, who leads the Northern Ireland Audit Office, said the impact of the pandemic on the economy is profound

The audit report also said that ministerial directions, where individual ministers direct civil servants to proceed with expenditure despite concerns over value for money, were used more times during the pandemic than in the previous decade.

The report makes no assessment of the value for money of individual measures.

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Mr Donnelly said: "February 2021 marked the anniversary of the first confirmed Covid-19 case in Northern Ireland.

"One year on and the pandemic continues to have a significant impact on our lives.

"The impact on our economy has been profound, with a drop in economic output of around 10% over 2020."

The auditor has also begun a review into the arrangements surrounding the supply of PPE in Northern Ireland

Mr Donnelly added: "There will undoubtedly be important lessons to learn, and this report provides my office with the basis for a programme of work evaluating how public money has been spent during this period."

The auditor said he had commenced separate reviews of three Covid-related expenditure schemes: the arrangements surrounding the supply of personal protective equipment in Northern Ireland; the provision of grants through the Small Business Grant Scheme; and the administration of the Sports Sustainability Grant Scheme.

Poor value for money

The Audit Office report also revealed that ministerial directions were used 27 times during the Covid pandemic to approve spending decisions against the advice of senior civil servants.

The report said: "Ministerial directions direct accounting officers to proceed with a spending proposal, despite concerns that the spending may breach regularity or propriety principles or may represent poor value for money.

"Over the period from March 2020 to May 24 2021, 27 Covid-19 related ministerial directions were notified to the Northern Ireland Assembly Public Accounts Committee.

"This is more than the total number of ministerial directions issued in the previous 10 years."

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The report continued: "All of the ministerial directions issued during this period related to the risk of poor value for money.

"This was generally because of the pace at which the schemes were designed and delivered, with limited opportunity to carry out the normal appraisal procedures and an increased risk of fraud and error."