Tax Credit chaos still failing families - Khalsa & Dakers

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Wed 31st May 2006

Andrew Dakers & Satnam Kaur Khalsa, Liberal Democrat parliamentary spokespersons for Brentford & Isleworth and Feltham & Heston respectively have today called for a total overhaul of the way tax credits are awarded. New figures have revealed that 6100 awards to families in Hounslow Borough are still being forced to payback over £6.4million worth of tax credits, due to overpayments made by HM Revenue and Customs.

Andrew Dakers, Parliamentary spokesperson for Brentford & Isleworth, said:

"It is simply unacceptable, that one year on, £6.4m of tax credits in Hounslow Borough are still being overpaid. In some areas, the situation is getting worse not better.

"Last May, the Paymaster General claimed that the system was working well for the vast majority of families. But today's figures show that the Minister is clearly in denial - in actual fact nationwide 44%, over 2.8 million people, received incorrect tax credit payments."

Satnam Kaur Khalsa, Parliamentary spokesperson for Feltham & Heston, said:

"The Minister has known of the systemic failures in the tax credit system for years and today's figures are yet more evidence that too little has been done to rectify them. Recent modifications to the system are too little too late.

"Meanwhile Dawn Primarolo continues to bury her head in the sand and blocks parliamentary scrutiny of this crucial issue. New ministerial leadership is now needed to introduce a radical overhaul of the way tax credits are administered."