HMRC scheme that wrongly cut child benefits did not ‘adequately consider’ impact, report finds

A National Audit Office inquiry has found that an HMRC anti-fraud scheme wrongly cut child benefits for twenty-three thousand families. The authority suspended payments based on flight records provided by the Home Office suggesting the parents had emigrated, but many of those records were incorrect. According to the report, HMRC failed to adequately consider the impact on claimants before implementing the scheme. Thousands of families were left without this crucial welfare support while the error was being corrected, raising serious questions about the government's due diligence process.

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