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Tax Credits

I have not been attracted to a complete amnesty. Clearly excess payment has been made. If the claimant accepts that and is prepared to repay the money, there is no dispute. It is a question whether Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs was notified at the time of the change. It seems not to be a good deal for the taxpayer to say, ““No thank you. Keep that extra money.”” That is when the claimant thinks that they should not have had it and we know that they should not have had it. The point that is made in the ombudsman’s report and the point that my hon. Friend makes—it is made also by many right hon. and hon. Members on both sides of the House—is that in circumstances where there is a dispute or where hardship would be caused, I have said repeatedly that I want HMRC to suspend recovery while the dispute is settled. I have asked it to adopt that position, and to ensure that those in hardship are paid the additional payments that are already available in the system, and that they are made aware of the fact that those payments are available to them.