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Welfare Tax Credits: Appeals

Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many tax credit claimants appealing against overpayments exercised their right to attend an oral hearing by an appeal tribunal in each (a) month, (b) quarter and (c) year since April 2003; and if he will make a statement. [145244]


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Dawn Primarolo: The information requested on the number of oral hearings requested at tribunal is not available.

Tax credits claimants have a right of appeal against decisions about their tax credit entitlement but HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC) Code of Practice 26 ‘What happens if we have paid you too much tax credit’ gives the reasons why claimants might be able to dispute an overpayment and how they should do this.

Welfare Tax Credits: EC Countries

Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether EU citizens entitled to claim child-related benefits or tax credits in their home country are eligible to claim (a) child tax credit and (b) child benefit in the UK for the same child; and if he will make a statement. [144115]

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 12 June 2007, Official Report, column 943W.

Welfare Tax Credits: ICT

Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many computer software errors there were in the tax credits system which have potentially caused errors in payments in each reporting period from April 2003 to June 2007; and if he will make a statement. [144902]

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 1 November 2006, Official Report, column 543W.

Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the IT system used for working families tax credit (WFTC) was the same system used for family credit or a new system; and whether the system used for the new tax credits is the same as that used for WFTC. [145085]

Dawn Primarolo: The IT system used for working families tax credit (WFTC) was the same system used for family credit (FamC).

The IT system used for the new tax credits is a different system to that used for WFTC.

Mr. Harper: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received on tax credit computer system-generated errors following change of client circumstances. [145210]

Dawn Primarolo: Treasury Ministers have received a number of representations on various aspects of the administration of the tax credits system and I have reported regularly to the House on its operation.

Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what total payments have been made to date to organisations awarded the contract to run the tax credits computer system. [145627]


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Dawn Primarolo: I refer the right hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) on 27 March 2007, Official Report, column 1516W.

Welfare Tax Credits: Internet

Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he plans the tax credits e-portal to be opened again by 31 December 2007; and if he will make a statement. [144904]

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 20 June 2007, Official Report, column 1890W.

Welfare Tax Credits: Manpower

Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his latest estimate is of the numbers of staff working at the expense of the public purse on tax credit work in each reporting period since April 2003; and if he will make a statement. [144906]

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 31 October 2006, Official Report, column 320W.

Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which HM Revenue and Customs sites in the UK contain staff working (a) on tax credits policy, (b) on tax credit debt management, (c) in tax credit contact centres, (d) in tax credit enquiry centres, (e) in the tax credits office, (f) in the tax credit programme office, (g) on tax credit compliance, (h) on the tax credit IT live service and (i) in tax credit IT development; how many staff work at each site; and if he will make a statement. [145404]

Dawn Primarolo: For staff figures I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him today (144906). Information on how to contact HMRC can be found at www.hmrc.gov.uk under “contact us”.

Mr. Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many staff are employed in the assisted adjudicator's office of HM Revenue and Customs dealing with tax credit disputes; [145450]

(2) how many staff are employed by HM Revenue and Customs to deal with tax credit disputes. [145451]

Dawn Primarolo: HM Revenue and Customs currently has around 220 full-time equivalent staff members dealing with tax credits complaints.

Welfare Tax Credits: Migrant Workers

Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what checks are in place to ensure that migrant workers in receipt of tax credits do not continue to receive payments after they have returned to their home countries; and if he will make a statement; [145248]

(2) what checks are in place to validate claims of EU migrant workers for child tax credits in respect of children who live abroad; and if he will make a statement; [145250]


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(3) what proportion of child tax credit claims for migrant workers (a) were rejected in each year since 2003-04 and (b) have been rejected in 2007-08; what the principal reasons have been for the rejection of such claims; and if he will make a statement. [145251]

Dawn Primarolo: Section 3 (3) and (7) of the Tax Credits Act 2002 provides a general requirement for all claimants to be in the UK to be eligible for the child and working tax credits, unless prescribed exceptions apply. HMRC have a range of checks in place to determine the overall risk of a claim, both pre- and post-payment, and intervene where they suspect a claim may be wrong or fraudulent. These checks apply to all claimants, irrespective of nationality.

Claims by EU migrant workers for family benefits in the UK (child benefit and child tax credit) under the co-ordinating rules in EC Regulations 1408/71 and 574/72 are subject to checks between HMRC and the competent authorities of the other member state on the composition of the worker’s family resident in the other member state and whether family benefits are in payment in that other state. In addition, claimants may be required to provide a birth or adoption certificate for the child in question or a certified copy.

The other information requested is not available.

Welfare Tax Credits: Overpayments

Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people were taken to court for non-payment of tax credit overpayments in (a) April and (b) May; and if he will make a statement. [144552]

Dawn Primarolo: No cases were taken to court for recovery of tax credit overpayments in April and May.

Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether it is his policy to categorise tax credit overpayments due to failure to declare a partner as fraud or as error; and if he will make a statement. [144695]

Dawn Primarolo: Whether overpayments arising from a failure to disclose a partner are categorised as error or fraud is dependent on the individual circumstances of a case.

Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his estimate is of the cost to date of tax credit overpayments due to failure to declare a partner. [144696]

Dawn Primarolo: The estimated cost of error and fraud by claimants failing to declare a partner, in 2003-04, is published in table 6 of the HMRC publication “Child and Working Tax Credit. Error and Fraud Statistics. 2003-04”, which is available on the HMRC website at:

Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many tax credit forms TC846 were issued in each month from April 2003 to June 2007. [144697]


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Dawn Primarolo: This information is not available.

Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his latest estimate is of the average cost of handling each tax credit overpayment appeal; and if he will make a statement. [144698]

Dawn Primarolo: This information is not available.

Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many tax credit overpayment demands were overturned by (a) the Ombudsman and (b) the Adjudicator in each reporting period from 2003-04 to 2007-08; and if he will make a statement. [144699]

Dawn Primarolo: For information about the independent adjudicator and the ombudsman, I refer the hon. Members to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Wycombe (Mr. Goodman) on 30 January 2006, Official Report, column 143W. The independent adjudicator subsequently published her 2006 report on 20 June 2006 and the parliamentary ombudsman published her report on 12 July 2006.

Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish the guidelines given to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) staff for recovering overpaid tax credits; what powers HMRC staff have to make calls at the claimant's home address; and if he will make a statement. [144700]

Dawn Primarolo: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has a standard process for direct recovery of tax credit overpayments, the primary objective being to encourage the claimant to make contact. The process includes printed reminders for payment, at least three attempts at making personal contact by telephone or a visit to the claimant’s home address if telephone contact not possible. And finally a letter warning of legal proceedings is issued before cases are taken to court. The process includes a facility for the Tax Credits Office to withdraw, at any time, any case under dispute.

HMRC staff operate under a general power, without which the Commissioners would be unable to undertake their duty to collect the revenue for which they are responsible, under section 5 Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005 (which includes tax credits under S5(1)(c).

Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recovery procedure checks are in place in HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) which must be implemented before HMRC can take to court tax credit claimants with overpayments; and if he will make a statement. [144703]

Dawn Primarolo: Instructions to staff on the prime procedural checks, which must be implemented before court action is instigated for recovery of a tax credit overpayment, state that the overpayment must be appropriate for recovery. The procedure includes:


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Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many errors HM Revenue and Customs staff are allowed to make in dealing with a tax credit case before an overpayment is written off; and if he will make a statement; [144705]

(2) whether a tax credit overpayment is deemed recoverable if, due to official error, a tax credit award notice records both zero income and the claimant’s place of work and hours of work; and if he will make a statement. [144707]

Dawn Primarolo: HMRC’s approach to handling tax credits overpayments is set out in its code of practice 26: “What happens if we have paid you too much tax credit?” available at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/leaflets/credit.htm

Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what targets have been set by HM Revenue and Customs for its staff involved in dealing with tax credit overpayment appeals; and if he will make a statement. [144706]

Dawn Primarolo: Tax credits claimants have a right of appeal against decisions about their tax credit entitlement but HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) code of practice 26 “What happens if we have paid you too much tax credit?” gives the reasons why claimants might be able to dispute an overpayment and how they should do this.

HMRC aims to deal with 80 per cent. of correspondence within 15 working days of receipt and 95 per cent. within 40 working days.

Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the introduction of reduced rates of recovery from tax credit overpayments. [144708]

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Member to my written statement to the House on 6 December 2006, Official Report, column 15WS and the evidence I gave to the Treasury Select Committee on 14 March 2007 in response to question 20.

Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress has been made in using a pilot to test the possibility of the adjudicator working with HM Revenue and Customs to provide a fast track independent review for disputed tax credit overpayments; and if he will make a statement. [144745]

Dawn Primarolo: HMRC is planning with the adjudicator to provide a fast track independent review for disputed overpayments. A pilot will start in next few months to test arrangements.

Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his latest estimate is of the number of (a) disputed overpayments of tax credits and (b) disputed overpayments of tax credits written-off in each month since February 2007; and if he will make a statement. [144866]


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Dawn Primarolo: The numbers of disputed overpayments received and the numbers of overpayments written off either fully or partially because of official error since February 2007 were around:

Month 2007 Number of disputes received Number written off (fully or partially)

February

19,500

500

March

20,000

450

April

14,000

350

May

16,000

400


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