UK businesses return £1.3bn of furlough

Figures released by the government show businesses that over-claimed or decided they no longer needed the payments they’d received through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme have handed back £300 million in the last three months.

Altogether, firms have repaid £1.3 billion in furlough cash to HMRC since July 2020 through adjustments to claims as well as the voluntary disclosure service, which will continue into 2022.

The government also reports that the number of people on furlough has fallen to the lowest level since the start of the pandemic, with 340,000 people moving off the scheme in July alone. The number of people on furlough now stands at 1.6 million. 

The government estimates the furlough payments supported approximately 1.3 million businesses and protected nearly 12 million jobs, including 910,000 jobs in Scotland, 470,000 jobs in Wales and 280,000 jobs in Northern Ireland.

Rishi Sunak, Chancellor of the Exchequer, said that the figures showed the furlough scheme had worked as intended.

“Nearly 2 million fewer people are now expected to be out of work in the UK than previously feared,” Mr Sunak said.

“Now with our recovery underway it is heartening to see that £1.3 billion in furlough grants have been returned as the economy recovers.”

HMRC used the announcement of these figures to warn firms that it is cracking down fraudulently claimed furlough payments, supporting the measure through its Taxpayer Protection Taskforce, which encompasses roughly 1,250 personnel.