Tax credit chaos hitting vulnerable North Somerset families

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Mon 16th Jun 2003

Continuing chaos in the new Tax Credit system has left hundreds of vulnerable North Somerset families without the financial support they need. Some could be short by more than £100 a week. Applications remain unprocessed after months and calls to the Inland Revenue helpline have gone unanswered.

The Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit were introduced in April 2003 as part of a massive overhaul of benefits for children and low income households. Dawn Primarolo, Labour Paymaster General, promised that claims would be dealt with within a week. However, nearly three months later, around 300,000 families across the country have still not received the money that they are entitled to.

Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Spokesman for Woodspring, Mike Bell, explains, "The main problem has been that this major change was rushed through without proper planning or preparation. Staff have not been adequately trained, the computer systems were not fully tested and the assessment process is over-complex. Worse still, careless thinking by the Government has meant that some families will actually be worse off under the new system."

Recent newspaper reports have highlighted the high staff turnover at the Bristol-based call centre set up to handle the flood of enquiries. Ex-employees described the service as "scandalous" and "diabolical", explaining that they were simply "fobbing off desperate families" because they had no information with which to help them with their queries.

Liberal Democrat Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, Steve Webb MP, said "The Government's inability to pay families the money they are owed is breathtaking. Families are being left out of pocket with a worrying hole in their finances."

Mike Bell added: "It is incredible that a scheme that was supposedly designed to alleviate child poverty has actually added to it. One of the cornerstones of an effective welfare system is simplicity. If it's hard for claimants to understand and complicated for officials to administer then it's bound to fail.

"Gordon Brown wants to control all aspects of government. The Treasury's tentacles are now strangling the social security system with a welter of complex rules and regulations. Those most in need of financial help may not get the advice they need to find their way through the system and will lose out as a result.

"Simple universal benefits such as a basic state pension for the elderly and child benefit for families are remarkably effective at reaching those in need. The government needs to re-think its policy before the tax credit system is extended to pensioners later this year."