The UK government does not know whether its traffic light system to manage foreign travel during the COVID-19 pandemic has worked or whether the almost half-a-billion-pound cost was worth the disruption caused, according to a select committee of MPs.
The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report (pdf) published on Tuesday said the government should publish a report, setting out the lessons it has learned, including how to track overall cost in cross-government projects, how to protect taxpayers from fraud, and how departments would re-introduce measures in response to future health threats if needed.
Citing figures (pdf) estimated by the National Audit Office (NAO), the PAC report said the government spent at least £486 million on the traffic light system in a bid to control the spread of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus….