More than £2 billion has been spent in response to the coronavirus pandemic in Northern Ireland, the audit office said. Three ministerial directions ordering speedy payment of support grants to businesses were issued by Stormont economy minister Diane Dodds.
There have been ministerial directions across other UK jurisdictions on Covid-19 initiatives. The Department for the Economy offered support to local businesses struggling to survive as a result of public compliance with social distancing and isolation regulations, the watchdog said.
Due to the tight timeframe Ms Dodds' officials had concerns as to whether they could provide sufficient evidence of the likely value for money of the schemes, or sufficient assurance on the risk of loss