FIRMS in Carlisle are being investigated over fraudulent claims for furlough cash.

HM Revenue and Customs said it has already recovered more than £200,000 from fraudulent claims made by Cumbrian firms during the pandemic.

After the outbreak of the Covid pandemic, the Government's Job Retention Scheme paid 80 per cent of the wages of employees, in an effort to stop lockdowns wreaking havoc on the economy.

But several companies have been found to have defrauded the taxpayer with claims for furlough money.

HMRC confirmed that 14 firms in Carlisle were among 41 companies in Cumbria being investigated over fraudulent claims.

'If appropriate, they should be prosecuted'

Carlisle MP, John Stevenson, said: "The furlough scheme was an outstanding success and was there to support businesses and employees to ensure that businesses didn't go bust and that people didn't lose their jobs, it was very successful. 

"However, only businesses who legitimately claimed should be allowed to have the funding.

"So, if they are businesses who have fraudulently claimed they should be properly investigated and if appropriate they should be prosecuted, because this is public money."

'We are using the full range of our powers to recover incorrectly paid claims'

In a response to a freedom of information request by this newspaper, HMRC said 14 claims made by firms were being probed.

Across Cumbria HMRC recovered £192,025 from fraudulent claims in 2020-21 and £43,852 last year.

Carlisle is the area in Cumbria with the most claims under investigation, followed by South Lakeland with 11.

HMRC said it identified claims for compliance checks where the amount of the claim was out of step with other information.

The risk that the claim was incorrect may be due to an honest mistake or fraud and the value of recovered grants does not distinguish between error and fraud. 

A spokesman for HMRC said: “We designed anti-fraud measures into the COVID support schemes from the beginning, and we are taking tough action to tackle fraudulent and criminal behaviour.

"We blocked tens of millions of pounds of claims being paid out in the first place and we are using the full range of our powers to recover incorrectly paid claims.”

Anyone who keeps grant money despite knowing they were not entitled to it faces having to repay up to double the amount they received, plus interest and potentially criminal prosecution.

READ MORE: Just R meet with Carlisle MP John Stevenson to talk about city