HMRC officials to give evidence following Child Benefit error
Senior officials from HMRC, including the First Permanent Secretary JP Marks, will answer questions on the work of the department when they appear in front of the Treasury Select Committee.
Meeting details
In November last year, the Chair of the Committee wrote to HMRC on the use of flight data to detect Child Benefit fraud. In his response, Mr Marks said that, as of 31 October 2025, around 15% of people who had their Child Benefit frozen were, in fact, eligible.
At the time, the Chair described HMRC’s actions as ‘cavalier’. In response to a Parliamentary Question, the Government has since confirmed that, as of the end of November, more than 60% of people whose Child Benefit was frozen were actually eligible. This is likely to be covered in the session.
The committee may also examine an error which resulted in thousands of self-employed individuals being charged too much National Insurance. In a recent update, HMRC estimated that 10-20,000 taxpayers may have been affected, but this number could grow.
Although not responsible for policy choices, HMRC are responsible for the implementation of tax changes announced by the Chancellor. Budget-related areas which are likely to be discussed include business rates, Cash ISAs and the surcharge on high value properties.