A DAMNING new report will today expose how 10 years of Tory austerity massively increased the vulnerability of the people of Britain to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The TUC study says cuts ravaged public services leaving the UK “hugely unprepared” for the pandemic, which left 226,989 people dead, according to official figures.

It will be launched jointly with the Covid Bereaved Families for Justice campaign group at a media conference today and will form part of the TUC’s evidence to the Covid-19 inquiry being headed by Baroness Hallett.

“Austerity cost the nation dearly,” said the TUC. “The consequences were painful and tragic. The inquiry is our chance to learn from this.”

The report presents a stark picture of the damage austerity caused in four key areas before the pandemic: public service staffing levels, public service capacity and resources, the social security system, and health and safety protections at work.

It says funding cuts in each key area reduced the country’s capacity to respond to the pandemic.

Between 2010 and 2020 the per capita number of nurses in the UK grew by less than 1 per cent, despite demand for care rising by a third, it states.

By contrast the international Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), representing 38 developed countries, said the average number of nurses per capita had risen by 10 per cent.

In 2019 the average NHS worker was paid £3,000 less in real terms than in 2010, significantly affecting recruitment and retention of staff, according to the report.

Capital investment in the health sector fell 10 per cent from 2010 to 2019.

Social care staff turnover in England rose from 22 per cent in 2012/13 to 31.8 per cent in 2019/20 — and higher among the 24 per cent of care staff on zero-hours contracts.

Social care, transport, housing, childcare, schools, higher education, police, fire services and environmental protection were all made less effective by cuts and less able to respond to the emergency, the study argues.

The social security safety net was damaged by benefit freezes, reduction of entitlement to help, and the narrowing of eligibility to fewer people, it states.

Rising poverty was found to increase victims’ vulnerability to Covid-19 infection and its consequences.

Key workers were also left more vulnerable because of cuts to health and safety at work enforcement.

During the pandemic, when workplace risks multiplied, workplace inspections and enforcement notices fell to an all-time low, leaving key workers more vulnerable to workplace infection.

Funding for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which is responsible for workplace safety, had been cut by 43 per cent, HSE staff numbers by 35 per cent, and workplace investigations by 70 per cent.

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said: “To learn lessons and save future lives, we must take an unflinching look at the choices made by our leaders in the years before the pandemic.

“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. It left us hugely unprepared for the pandemic. And it left far too many workers unprotected. The consequences were painful and tragic.

“The inquiry is our chance to learn the lessons — and to understand why we have to rebuild our public services so that they are strong enough to protect us in a future crisis.”