HMRC is reviewing its decision to stop Child Benefit payments to around 23,500 claimants
HM Revenue and Customs ( HMRC ) is reconsidering its decision to halt Child Benefit payments to approximately 23,500 claimants in a bid to combat fraud, which used travel data to determine if they had permanently left the UK. The nation’s tax authority has issued an apology “to those whose payments have been suspended incorrectly” and stated that immediate measures have been taken to update the process following queries about the move.
As part of a trial scheme to address fraud and errors in the system, the tax body announced in August that £17m in incorrect payments made to thousands of people who had permanently relocated abroad was saved over a year. It is projected to save £350m over the forthcoming five years.
A newly-formed specialist team has been utilising international travel data to monitor if claimants have moved abroad, resulting in them no longer being eligible for the payments.
However, it is believed that officials have since begun examining cases using PAYE data to verify how many legitimate claimants have had their benefit halted following reports that people were wrongly considered to have emigrated, reports the Daily Record.
HMRC plans to conclude its review by the end of next week and, where continued UK employment is discovered, will restore funds and make necessary back payments. Child Benefit amounts to £26.05 per week – or £1,354.60 annually – for the eldest or only child and £17.25 per week – or £897 yearly – for each additional child.
Parliament’s Treasury Select Committee has penned a letter to HMRC, posing over a dozen queries following reports that the authority had been suspending child benefit based on Home Office travel data.
Dame Meg Hillier, the Chairwoman, questioned how many people had their child benefit payments wrongly withheld and what measures were in place to prevent those who didn’t board booked flights from being inaccurately deemed as emigrants.
It is understood that HMRC will address the committee’s questions in due course. Under current regulations, child benefit payments are typically halted after eight weeks abroad, barring exceptional circumstances.
However, The Guardian reported that nearly 46 per cent of targeted families were falsely suspected of fraud.
In Northern Ireland, an astonishing 78 per cent were wrongly identified as not having returned from trips abroad, with 129 families flagged during the pilot as having left the country when only 28 had actually done so, according to the paper. The tax body issued a statement saying it had revised its processes so that people would be given a month to respond before payments were stopped.
An HMRC spokesperson apologised, saying: “We’re very sorry to those whose payments have been suspended incorrectly. We have taken immediate action to update the process, giving customers one month to respond before payments are suspended. We remain committed to protecting taxpayers’ money and are confident that the majority of suspensions are accurate.”
