Years of austerity overseen by David Cameron and George Osborne left Britain “hugely unprepared” for Covid-19, with consequences that were “painful and tragic”, union leaders claim. In a n attempt to frame the opening hearing of the UK Covid inquiry next week as a trial of public sector cuts, the Trades Union Congress will argue in a report that the policies of the former prime minister and his chancellor led to “unsafe staffi ng in public services, a broken safety net and decimated workplace safety enforcement”.
Cameron and Osborne are likely to push back against the claims when called for cross examination by the inquiry in the coming weeks.
They are due to appear in the part examining the UK’s pandemic preparedness and resilience that will start on 13 June and end in mid-July. The chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, who was a health secretary under Cameron, will also give evidence.
Paul Nowak , the general secretary of the TUC, said: “In the NHS and social care, funding cuts put staff levels in the danger zone . Cuts to social security pushed many more people below the poverty line, leaving them more vulnerable to infection , and cuts to health and safety left workers exposed to rogue employers who cut corners and put their lives at risk. Austerity cost the nation dearly.”
The union group cited £14 b n in cuts to support to households through social security after 2010 and highlighted studies that show ed living in poverty was associated with greater risks of exposure to Covid-19, and greater levels of vulnerability to more serious health consequences from being ill with the virus.
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