Foster & Partners has become the first big-name architect to publicly confirm that it has paid back the money it received from the government’s furlough scheme.

The initiative, which wrapped up at the end of last month, was introduced by chancellor Rishi Sunak in March and, according to Treasury figures, saw 30% of the UK workforce accessing it at its peak in May.

According to the figures, the amount shelled out by government under the initiative for the period up to 31 August was £37.5bn. HMRC has said that figures for September and October will be made available at a later date.

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