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HMRC to review suspending 23,500 child benefit payments
- HM Revenue & Customs suspended payments for about 23,500 households after using travel data to conclude claimants had left the UK permanently.
- The government launched a crackdown in September, and HMRC said the pilot saved 17million in wrongful payments, prompting a review of 23,500 suspensions based on travel data.
- Errors emerged most sharply in Northern Ireland, where 78% were wrongly flagged as abroad and 129 families were flagged though only 28 had actually left.
- HMRC apologised to claimants and updated processes to give one month to respond before suspending payments, and it will review cases using PAYE data to reinstate funds where UK employment continues.
- Under existing rules child benefit usually stops after eight weeks abroad, but many affected say payments were halted after short holidays; questions remain and HMRC aims to complete its review by the end of next week.
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67 Articles
HMRC Child Benefits Crackdown Backfires: 23,500 Families Flagged for 'Leaving the UK' — Even Those on Short Holidays
Thousands of families across the UK have had their child benefit payments wrongly suspended after HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) flagged them as having left the country. The suspensions were part of a high-profile government drive to tackle benefit fraud using border and travel data. Officials said the scheme aimed to protect public funds and prevent ineligible claims. In practice, the rollout caught many legitimate claimants, including parents w…
·United Kingdom
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources67
Leaning Left6Leaning Right3Center45Last UpdatedBias Distribution83% Center
Bias Distribution
- 83% of the sources are Center
83% Center
11%
C 83%
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