The Treasury has admitted it does not produce statistics on the amount of Child Benefit paid to individuals living outside the UK, a disclosure that has drawn criticism from the Conservative Party.
In a written response to a parliamentary question about payments to parents who have left the country, Treasury minister Lord Pitt-Watson said: “HMRC does not produce statistics on the amount of Child Benefit paid to individuals outside of the UK.”
Fraud Figures and Political Reaction
The admission came as HMRC revealed that some £270 million in Child Benefit was wrongly claimed last year alone, with claimants moving abroad thought to be a leading cause. The tax authority has not provided an estimate of how much of this sum is linked to overseas claimants.
Shadow Chancellor Andrew Griffith told the Daily Express: “John Healey has ditched his welfare fraud crackdown, and now, HMRC can’t even tell us how much child benefit is being shipped abroad to claimants who have long since left the country.”
He added: “They make taxpayers' lives miserable whilst not caring about fraud and error in welfare.”
Griffith also said: “Whilst Labour have abandoned taxpayers, the Conservatives will save £36 billion from welfare so British taxpayers can keep more of their hard-earned money.”
HMRC's Response and Enforcement Measures
HMRC insists it is cracking down on the problem. The tax authority says it has quadrupled the staff checking Child Benefit claims over five years and is now using international travel data to identify families who have moved overseas while continuing to receive payments.
According to HMRC, that work has already protected more than £50 million and is forecast to save £285 million by 2029-30.
An HMRC spokesperson said: “We take Child Benefit fraud and error seriously, targeting claims where people may no longer be eligible, and have put in place new arrangements to address those who have moved overseas.”
The spokesperson added: “Our work so far has prevented thousands of customers claiming incorrectly, protecting tens of millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money.”
Critics argue that the fact officials cannot say how much is being paid out abroad shows the scale of the problem has never been properly addressed.
