A recent report by the public accounts committee estimates that the level of fraud and error across all Covid-19 support schemes could be as high as £20 billion. However, don’t assume mistakes and errors will not be picked up – HMRC is running the Taxpayer Protection Taskforce (Taskforce) to scrutinise claims made.

The two main areas of concern are the furlough scheme with an expected loss through fraud of £5.3 billion, and the bounce back loan scheme with some £18 billion expected to be written off.