‘Show us the secret dossier of doom’: MPs demand to see report

‘Show us the secret dossier of doom’: MPs demand to see report showing lockdown restrictions have pushed major sectors of economy to brink of collapse

  • Detailed analysis of the damage the pandemic has done to key sectors was done 
  • Industries in the firing line include retail, hospitality, aerospace and tourism
  • The secret dossier is known as the ‘Covid-19 sectoral impacts dashboard’ 

Ministers were last night resisting pressure to publish a secret dossier showing lockdown restrictions have pushed a dozen major sectors of the economy to the brink of collapse.

Downing Street confirmed that officials have compiled a detailed analysis of the damage the pandemic has done to key sectors.

At least a dozen have been rated ‘red’, meaning they are deemed to be at serious risk of major job cuts and hits to revenue.

Industries in the firing line include retail, hospitality, aerospace, the car industry, tourism, the arts, sport, and maritime, including ferries and cruises.

Ministers were last night resisting pressure to publish a secret dossier showing lockdown restrictions have pushed a dozen major sectors of the economy to the brink of collapse

Ministers are being urged to publish more details after a government ‘analysis’ of the tier system was branded a whitewash.

Mel Stride, Tory chairman of the Commons Treasury committee, said the lack of detail in the published data was ‘frustrating’ and urged ministers to release analysis of the way in which restrictions ‘might impact on the specific sectors and regions’.

The Office for Budget Responsibility revealed that it had been kept in the dark about the dossier when drawing up economic forecasts ahead of last week’s comprehensive spending review. OBR chairman Richard Hughes told MPs: ‘I’m not familiar with that work as it is described … Ultimately we had to make some judgments of our own – we didn’t know what the new tiering regime would be.’

Mel Stride (pictured), Tory chairman of the Commons Treasury committee, said the lack of detail in the published data was 'frustrating' and urged ministers to release analysis of the way in which restrictions 'might impact on the specific sectors and regions'

Mel Stride (pictured), Tory chairman of the Commons Treasury committee, said the lack of detail in the published data was ‘frustrating’ and urged ministers to release analysis of the way in which restrictions ‘might impact on the specific sectors and regions’

Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove claimed yesterday he had not seen the document and said it was coronavirus, not lockdown restrictions that was damaging the economy.

The secret dossier, known as the ‘Covid-19 sectoral impacts dashboard’, was commissioned by the Business department to help ministers understand the impact of the pandemic on individual sectors of the economy.

For each sector it gives a red, amber and green rating for revenue, jobs and financial stability, with an assessment of the ‘overall trend’ for the industry.

A spokesman for Boris Johnson ducked questions about whether it would be published, saying: ‘The data used on this dashboard is drawn from information that is already publicly available.’

He added: ‘Any attempt to estimate the specific economic impacts of precise changes to individual restrictions for a defined period of time will be subject to such wide uncertainty as to not be meaningful for precise policy-making.’