Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Department of Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 11 September 2017 to Question 9283, what the evidential basis is for the statement that flaws in the current system allow some self-employed claimants to receive full State support while declaring low or zero earnings.

Tax Credits for the self-employed lack a strong incentive for claimants to grow their earnings and reduce their dependency on welfare. The rules for eligibility for Working Tax Credit (WTC) are set out in the Tax Credits Act 2002 and the associated regulations, in particular the Working Tax Credit (Entitlement and Maximum Rate) Regulations 2002. These do not include a requirement for those claiming WTC to increase their earnings, or to earn more than a specified amount.

The Government introduced the strengthened self-employment test into Working Tax Credit in 2015 to address the risk of individuals continuing to claim WTC, despite not working on a commercial and with a view to a profit basis. HMRC advice on this is in the link below:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/revenue-and-customs-brief-7-2015-new-rules-for-the-self-employed-claiming-working-tax-credit/revenue-and-customs-brief-7-2015-new-rules-for-the-self-employed-claiming-working-tax-credit

Historically, a high proportion of self-employed Tax Credit claimants saw little progression in their earnings over several years, including many of the lowest earners.

Recently, HMRC and DWP have published data from a survey of self-employed tax credit claimants. These data confirm that many such claimants have low earnings and demonstrate the need to support and incentivise claimants to grow their earnings:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/self-employment-working-tax-credits-claimant-survey-and-follow-up-research