£3.5 billion furlough fraud

The 1-minute read to get the money news you need with expert adviser commentary.

Furlough fraud

HMRC estimates that up to £3.5 billion may have been wrongly paid out via the furlough scheme. It reckons error or fraud affected 5-10% of wage payments the government has made since March. HMRC plans to go after employers who set out to defraud the system, including 27,000 "high risk" cases where large amounts of money may have gone missing.

London suburbs booming

Homebuyers are seeking more space, with outer London boroughs boosting prices in the capital. Merton and Sutton saw the fastest growth, where prices jumped more than 3% in the year to July according to Zoopla’s house price index. Zoopla says it’s seen the highest demand for homes with at least 3 bedrooms.

Online shopping spree

August was another month of growth for retail, but it’s still making up for sales lost over lockdown. Sales rose by 3.9% compared to last year, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC). Online shopping is leading the way, with brick and mortar stores struggling to keep up.

Be your own boss

Laid-off Brits have been busy starting businesses during lockdown, with a 14% increase in the number of startups with 9 employees or fewer. Website host GoDaddy also says 15% of new UK entrepreneurs made the leap after being furloughed or losing their job.

Tech jobs drive

Job vacancies in the tech sector are up 36% since early June*, posting the second-highest number of roles after healthcare. In Belfast and Cambridge, 1 in 4 employees now work in tech companies, and it’s 1 in 5 in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Bristol, and more.