Gordon Prentice
Labour, Pendle
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many checks his Department carried out on (a) expenditure on (i) food and (ii) childcare by and (b) bank statements from more than six months previously of recipients of tax credits in each year since 2005; what criteria are used to decide to carry out such checks; and if he will make a statement.
Stephen Timms
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Business, Innovation and Skills) (Digital Britain) (also HM Treasury), Financial Secretary (HM Treasury) (also in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills)
The information is not available. For information relating to HM Revenue and Customs compliance checks on tax credits awards I refer the hon. Member to the information published in the 2007-08 and 2008-09 Comptroller and Auditor General's standard reports.
Information for years up to and including 2007-08 can be found in table 6 on page R15 of the 2007-08 report published at:
www.hmrc.gov.uk/about/hmrc-dep-acct0708.pdf
Similar information for 2008-09 is included in table 33 on page R41 of the Standard Report published at:
www.hmrc.gov.uk/about/hmrc-accs-0809.pdf
Providing further information about the criteria used to carry out such checks might assist those attempting to defraud the system.
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