Struggling households should be given more help by the Chancellor after writing off more than £4 billion of public cash stolen by Covid fraudsters, MPs claim.
The UK Treasury expects to recover only £1 of every £4 stolen from the public purse by fraudsters during the pandemic.
Aberdeen South MP Stephen Flynn accused the Chancellor of being “happy to let fraudsters off the hook”.
But he also claimed the Tory minister had already “picked the pockets of hard pressed households” by slashing welfare.
Billions written off
The department has written off £4.3bn of £5.8bn that was stolen from its emergency Covid-19 schemes including the furlough scheme, the self-employed income support programme and Eat Out to Help Out.
The figures which were first unearthed by The Times, show while the Treasury spent a total of £81.2bn on the schemes, it believes £5.8bn has been stolen by workers and businesses claiming money they were not entitled to.
Mr Flynn, who is the SNP’s business spokesman, has called on the Chancellor to put the £20 a month Universal Credit uplift back in place to help struggling families.
The extra £20 per week, which was introduced during the pandemic, ended at the beginning of October.
The SNP MP said: “If the Chancellor can turn a blind eye to £4.3bn then surely he can reinstate Universal Credit to its previous level and make a real difference to more than 15,000 households across Aberdeen who are suffering from the Tory-made cost of living crisis we are currently witnessing.
“The Tories have been caught dishing out dodgy Covid contracts to friends and family, their VIP lane has been found to be unlawful, and now they are writing off £4.3bn whilst hammering the poorest in society – the public deserve so much better.”
Writing off £4.3billion just a few short months after picking £20 from the pocket of folk on Universal Credit. https://t.co/39pgLtj5ZQ
— Stephen Flynn MP (@StephenFlynnSNP) January 17, 2022
Meanwhile, West Fife SNP MP Douglas Chapman accused the prime minister of betraying a commitment to claw back stolen taxpayers’ cash.
Boris Johnson said last month action would be taken against “anybody who’s defrauded any of the Covid loans, bounce back loans or otherwise”.
In response to £4.3bn being written off, Mr Chapman said: “I cannot understand how a government that will pursue every penny from families who’ve received a tiny benefits overpayment could abandon all hopes of recovering so much money lost to criminals.
“I will be seeking to raise this with the prime minister to ensure every effort is made to get this missing £4.3bn back.”
The Chancellor faced accusations of “going missing” as he did not appear in the Commons on Tuesday to answer questions about the cash which reportedly went to “fraudsters”.
Treasury Minister John John Glen told MPs the government “has taken the issue of potential fraud relating to Covid grant schemes extremely seriously”.
He added: “Robust measures were put in place to control error and fraud in the key Covid support schemes from their inception.”
‘Providing extensive support’
A UK Government spokesman said: “We’re providing extensive support to those on the lowest incomes, including putting an average of £1,000 more per year into the pockets of working families on Universal Credit, increasing the minimum wage and helping with the cost of fuel bills.
“Meanwhile, Scotland has been allocated an additional £41 million in line with the Household Support Fund helping vulnerable families across the country with essential costs, and the Scottish Parliament has significant welfare powers and can top up existing benefits, pay discretionary payments and create entirely new benefits in areas of devolved responsibility.”