Sunak Defends UK Covid-19 Furlough Scheme During Public Inquiry
Rishi Sunak testified at the UK Covid-19 public inquiry, discussing the government’s response to the pandemic’s economic impact. He said the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, commonly known as furlough, helped prevent mass unemployment though it could not save every job. Sunak argued that the pandemic’s effect on employment and living standards was better than early forecasts and notably protected the most vulnerable.
Sunak emphasized there was no existing playbook for managing a pandemic; policies were devised rapidly amid great uncertainty without a pre-existing toolkit. The furlough scheme was announced in March 2020, after Sunak was appointed Chancellor on 13 February 2020, with the first lockdown following a month later. A more targeted version of furlough was drafted but never implemented, and a Jobs Support Scheme (JSS) was considered but ultimately not used due to a later lockdown.
He stressed the importance of swift action, acknowledging that the Treasury could not get everything right immediately and that delays for the sake of perfection would have been detrimental. Medical advisers cautioned against early, aggressive interventions, and February 2020 was described by the inquiry as a lost month. Support for the self-employed faced challenges since applicants had to self-certify; however, Sunak maintained that it was right to support self-employed people and that he would do so again under similar circumstances.
