Up to £3.6bn in furlough payments fraudulent or erroneous

Up to £3.6bn in furlough payments could be fraudulent or erroneous, HMRC’s (Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs) chief executive told the Public Accounts Committee this week.

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), which, despite authoritative protests (see above), is scheduled to end on 31 October, has cost the government around £35.4bn so far. Last month around one in eight workers was on furlough.

First secretary and HMRC chief executive Jim Harra told the committee: “Although we will expect employers to check their claims and repay any excess amount, what we will be focusing on is tackling abuse and fraud.”

https://calendar.parliament.uk/calendar/Commons/All/2020/9/7/Daily