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

NAO inquiry follows suspension of payments after erroneous records that claimants had emigrated

An HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) anti-fraud crackdown that stripped 23,000 families of their child benefit failed to “adequately consider” the policy’s impact on claimants, an official report has found.

The report by the National Audit Office followed HMRC’s decision to suspend payments after flight records provided by the Home Office purportedly showed thousands of parents had emigrated.