Covid-19· Public spending The 12-month stretch Where the Government has delivered – and where it has failed – during the Covid-19 crisis 18 March 2021 Torsten Bell Mike Brewer As we reach the anniversary of the UK’s first lockdown, this note explores the past 12 months of the pandemic through the health crisis, the economic crisis, and their impact on households’ ability to cope financially. It takes a step back, considering the big picture of what policy makers have done, how well they have done it, and where it’s left people, both in terms of health and economic outcomes. We find that the past year has been marked by big successes on income support and vaccines, but repeated failures on lockdown that have cost lives and deepened the economic crisis, and left a legacy of inequality that needs to be addressed in the recovery.
