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Large housing association to repay government furlough money

A large housing association has announced it will repay over £250,000 it received from the government via its Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

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Catalyst to pay all money received from government through its furlough scheme (picture: Getty)
Catalyst to pay all money received from government through its furlough scheme (picture: Getty)
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Catalyst has announced it will repay over a quarter of a million pounds it received from the government via the coronavirus job retention scheme #ukhousing

“With the benefit of hindsight, we now know that we did not fall into that category and would not have made anyone redundant as a consequence of lockdown,” said Ian McDermott of Catalyst #ukhousing

Catalyst Housing Group said it could not in good faith keep the money after it realised that it would not have made anyone redundant as a consequence of the lockdown.

The 32,000-home landlord placed 101 staff members on furlough and received £280,000 from the government as a result.

It will now pay back all of the money it received and will not make any further claims for outstanding available funds, which was due to total around £550,000.


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Ian McDermott, chief executive of Catalyst, said: “The government was clear that this was taxpayers’ money designed to ensure employers who could not afford to pay wages could protect the employment of as many people as possible rather than make mass redundancies.

“With the benefit of hindsight, we now know that we did not fall into that category and would not have made anyone redundant as a consequence of lockdown.

“It would be entirely wrong to keep the money and use it for a different purpose. As an ethical organisation, we believe it is essential that we play our part as a responsible good corporate citizen and repay the money.

“At the beginning of this crisis we said we wanted to continue to employ as many people for as long as possible, that still stands; and our financial position means we have been able to do that over these past few months which I know have been tough for many.

“The ability to give this money back reflects the ongoing commitment of colleagues and their hard work across Catalyst over the past few months.”

In April, Inside Housing reported that almost 3,000 staff members from 40 large housing associations it surveyed had been placed on furlough.

The furlough scheme, known officially as the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, was introduced at the start of the coronavirus lockdown and has seen the government pay up to 80% of anyone placed on temporary leave as a result of the crisis.

From next month employers will be expected to pay a larger share of furloughed employees’ salaries, with the scheme set to officially end in October.

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