Welfare Tax Credits

(asked on 16th April 2018) - View Source

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether HMRC has made an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a reliable mechanism which (a) makes clear the whereabouts of important documentation relating to tax credit claims, (b) acknowledges the submission of online renewals and (c) does not suspend payments until it can be proved that claimants have received and then failed to respond appropriately to the necessary paperwork.


Answered by
Mel Stride Portrait
Mel Stride
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
This question was answered on 24th April 2018

I refer the Rt. Hon Gentleman to the answer my predecessor gave him on 12th September 2017 (Hansard 7488).

HMRC has processes in place for handling and scanning important documents and cherished items. The department endeavours to return such items but cannot legislate for documentation that is not accompanied by a covering letter or form that enables HMRC to identify the sender.

In addition to the automated acknowledgements referred to in the previous answer, HMRC has introduced an online service that enables customers to track the progress of their tax credits renewal online through their Personal Tax Account. HMRC send tax credits customers their renewal packs between mid-April and the mid-June each year. These are followed by a series of reminders and an extensive advertising and social media campaign to encourage customers to renew on time.

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