Written question asked by Andrew Snowden (Conservative) on Thursday, 15 January 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 22 January 2026 (named day). It was answered by Dan Tomlinson (Labour) on Thursday, 22 January 2026 on behalf of the Treasury.

Child Benefit

Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, at what level was the decision made to remove the PAYE checks after the Child Benefit compliance pilot.

Answer

As HMRC’s First Permanent Secretary explained to the Treasury Select Committee on 13 January, the PAYE check was removed to streamline the process at an operational level, with a view to employment status being tested as part of any subsequent customer enquiry.

The Department has apologised for removing the PAYE check and the impact on some of its customers of this change.

HMRC has taken swift action to reinstate the check, put things right for affected customers and make further improvements to the process. Lessons learned for the future include strengthening the governance from pilots to business as usual activities.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 106155
Session: 2024-26
Subjects: Child benefit Pilot schemes Revenue and Customs Information sharing
Link: View this Written question on www.parliament.uk

Child Benefit

Secondary information

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