Milton Keynes Labour party have today released figures.
The Treasury is set to wipe £4.3billion stolen by fraudsters from COVID schemes.
Overall, £5.8bn was stolen from the government's emergency Covid-19 schemes which includes the furlough scheme, the self-employed income support programme and Eat Out to Help Out.
The amount being wiped off adds up to the equivalent of 128,000 nurses’ salaries, 146,000 police officers, or one and a half QE class aircraft carriers. It is also the the equivalent of £156 per household wasted on fraud alone.
Across Milton Keynes, that is £16,614,000.
Publishing the analysis Labour’s Cllr Rob Middleton, Cabinet Member with responsibility for finance, said: “Families in Milton Keynes are facing a cost of living crisis – thanks in no small part to this government. The Conservatives are the party of high tax because they are the party of low growth. That means higher National Insurance, cuts to support for working families, and they want every council in the country to raise council tax as well.
“Now we know that while they are hammering people in Milton Keynes with higher tax and lower support they are - at the very same time – happy to write off more than £4bn in fraud.
“Whether it is lockdown parties in Downing Street or raising taxes for us while fraudsters get off scot free – this Conservative Government are taking us for fools.”
Labour’s Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “While prices soar, billions in hard-earned taxpayer cash has been frittered away by fraud — and the chancellor is happy to shrug his shoulders and lose it forever.
“Labour will treat every pound of taxpayers' money with the respect it deserves. Government should be able to get money to the right places, without losing billions in taxpayers' cash.”
