Thread by @paulwaugh

.@George_Osborne as fluent as ever in evidence to Covid Inquiry. Cites OBR chair Richard Hughes for saying 'in the absence of perfect foresight', the best prep for a pandemic any Treasury can do is to have a healthy balance sheet to allow flexibility of emergency spending needed

Osborne: “No one said to us there could be a health pandemic that is not influenza for which the likely response is you’re going to have to shut down the economy…This is not disparaging the health experts. "
Adds it doesn’t seem any country prepared like that.

Sharp jab at Truss's economic implosion last autumn from Osborne there, when he says her administration showed the need for sound finances [as opposed to borrowing binges]

Of course, the big q is whether Osborne (and Hunt) ever discussed the pandemic preparation impact of their funding squeeze on the NHS's understaffing and capital resourcing.

Let's see if Kate Blackwell KC presses effectively on that Q.

And on this, Osborne says the Treasury was able to 'flex' when needed. But isn't that precisely the point: his spending squeeze meant that the NHS didn't have the 'flex' needed to cope with a pandemic?

Emergency spending on furlough v diff from flex capacity of NHS.

Osborne pointedly highlights that the OBR was due to look at how to cope with a flu pandemic, but ‘switched resources to [planning for] a no-deal Brexit instead’.

Finally, Osborne is asked whether his austerity policies "depleted health and social care capacity" in the UK.

"I completely reject that," he replies.

#CovidInquiry lawyer puts to Osborne the report by @instituteforgov that suggests austerity made public services less prepared for a pandemic.

Blackwell: Does he recognise the picture described?

Osborne: "The short answer is 'no'.
instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/re…

Osborne then falls back onto the defence that the alternative to austerity was borrowing or tax rises.
Ie where would the money for public services come from?
But that's a political argument not one about the preparedness.
Will Blackwell press that?

Blackwell points to cuts in public health spending and council spending.

Osborne says good decision to transfer public health from NHS to councils and he wasn't keen on 'ring fencing' and promoted localism

"Local govt has its own resources, it can raise or cut taxes"

Osborne: “Money is not the solution to all public health problems”
Adds that to provide more money for anything, the key Qs are: “Which budgets you’re going to cut, what money you’re going to borrow or what taxes you are going to put up.”

Osborne: “We prioritised health.”

Maybe the Covid inquiry lawyer could have used this chart to counter that.

Asked about council + other cuts, Osborne points out that he and @David_Cameron made clear in 2010 exln "we would cut those services" [while ring fencing NHS] And in 2015 election too.

"In both cases the public put their confidence in us."
ie UK voted for austerity *twice*