Work and Pensions Committee – Fraud and error in the benefits system

The LITRG are concerned about the impact of current compliance activity on tax credit claimants who make mistakes due to the complexity of the benefit system and poor guidance from HMRC, and the difficult processes faced by those who challenge these decisions. We also believe that, in order to address the issues in the system, 'fraud' and 'error' must be recognised as two separate issues requiring different solutions – too often these terms are conflated to the detriment of the claimant.