Boris Johnson has ruled at extending the furlough scheme.
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme was announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak in March in a bid to protect jobs during the pandemic.
The scheme has supported millions of workers and employers during the coronavirus pandemic - at a cost of more than £34bn to the Treasury - but is set to come to an end in October.
During a government press conference from Downing Street on Wednesday, the Prime Minister was asked by a member of the public whether the furlough scheme will be extended - particularly for those who cannot return to work due to the nature of their jobs.
He says the government will do everything they can to support people who can't work, but does not say the scheme will be extended.
"One of the difficulties with the furlough scheme, if we extend it more widely, is that you are just keeping people in suspended animation when really we want people to get back to work if they possibly can, in a Covid-Secure way, " Mr Johnson said.
Downing Street confirmed on Tuesday that HMRC is looking into 27,000 potentially fraudulent claims of the furlough scheme.
This is more than three times the amount of reports of potential furlough fraud HMRC said it was investigating last month.
