Rishi Sunak Faces Covid Inquiry and Eat Out to Help Out Scheme Criticism

Rishi Sunak is set to give evidence to the Covid inquiry where he will be questioned on his time as chancellor during the pandemic. This comes after a YouGov survey for The Times revealed that 52 per cent of people disapproved of his Eat Out to Help Out scheme while only a third thought it was a good plan. The Prime Minister is expected to face allegations that the scheme, which offered mid-week half-price food and drink at selected restaurants in August 2020, fueled the spread of coronavirus. Furthermore, Mr Sunak faces a crunch vote on his Rwanda asylum policy on Tuesday, making this a crucial week for him.

Rishi Sunak Giving Evidence Date and Time

Rishi Sunak will be giving evidence on Monday 11 December from 10.30am GMT to 4.30pm.

Live Streaming of the Covid Inquiry

You can watch a live stream of Monday’s proceedings on the dedicated YouTube channel for the Covid inquiry. This channel also uploads previous days’ hearings for those who want to watch them back.

Anticipated Discussion Points

One of the key subjects of Mr. Sunak’s questioning is expected to be the scientific advice he sought before launching the Eat Out To Help Out scheme. Concerns have been raised as Chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty, former government chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance, former deputy chief medical officer Sir Jonathan Van-Tam, and former health secretary Matt Hancock stated that they were not consulted or informed in advance about the scheme. However, Mr. Sunak has claimed in his written statement that neither Professor Whitty nor Sir Patrick raised any concerns about Eat Out To Help Out when it was launched.

Another point of discussion is expected to be the impact of the scheme on the work prospects of women and ethnic minorities. Boris Johnson defended the scheme by stating that it boosted the prospects of these groups, as they were disproportionately affected by the lockdown and more likely to work in the hospitality sector. On the other hand, Sir Patrick Vallance claimed that the scheme almost certainly drove a second wave of Covid cases in the UK and WhatsApp messages shown to the inquiry implied that the government may have known about the scheme’s impact on infection rates but chose not to disclose this information to the public.