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Mr Osborne – who was chancellor from 2010 to 2016 – stated: “If we had not done that Britain would have been more exposed, not just to future things like the coronavirus pandemic, but indeed to the fiscal crisis which very rapidly followed in countries across Europe.
“If we had not had a transparent plan to place the general public funds on a sustainable path then Britain might need skilled a fiscal disaster, we’d not have had the fiscal area to cope with the coronavirus pandemic when it hit.”
The British Medical Association said Mr Osborne’s “denial” of a connection between austerity and the impact of the pandemic on the most vulnerable was “staggering”.
On Monday, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) produced a report, external which said austerity had led to unsafe staffing in public services leaving the UK “vastly unprepared” for Covid.
During the one hour 20 minute question session, Mr Osborne was also asked about the Treasury’s planning for potential national lockdown.
He said the department had plans for an outbreak of influenza but added “given what subsequently occurred that was very small scale”.
“There was no planning performed by Treasury – or any western Treasury – for asking the whole inhabitants to remain at residence for months and months on finish.
“If someone had said to you the UK government should be preparing for a lockdown that might last for months, then I have no doubt the Treasury would have developed schemes it did subsequently develop around the furlough and the Covid loans.
“Planning might have been performed for a furlough scheme upfront – I’m not clear that might have made a greater furlough scheme than the one we as a rustic really noticed.”
Earlier in the day, Sir Oliver Letwin, a senior minister in David Cameron’s government, told the inquiry a rapid turnover of civil service staff hindered the government’s ability to plan for pandemics.
He also warned that the UK was “wildly under-resilient” and said there should be a minister “solely devoted” to the topic.
Labour stated the admissions have been “too little, too late”, adding the Conservatives “can’t be trusted to guard the general public from the emergencies of tomorrow”.
