More than 60% of parents whose child benefit was suspended by HM Revenue and Customs under an anti-fraud drive were legitimate claimants living in the UK, according to new figures disclosed to Parliament. The revelation has intensified criticism of the government’s use of flawed travel data, with ministers admitting the scale of wrongful suspensions was far higher than previously acknowledged.

Majority of families wrongly targeted

In a written parliamentary reply, Dan Tomlinson, the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, confirmed that 14,994 out of 23,794 cases reviewed by 30 November had since been found eligible for child benefit. This means nearly 63% of families targeted were not committing fraud, while only around 4.3% were ultimately found to be claiming incorrectly.

The disclosure followed questions tabled by Conservative MP Andrew Snowden, who said the figures were “deeply troubling” and highlighted the distress caused to families dependent on the payments for basic needs.

Errors linked to travel data

The suspensions stemmed from HMRC’s use of Home Office international travel data, which was later found to be incomplete and in some cases inaccurate. Investigations by The Guardian and the Detail revealed that parents were flagged as having left the UK permanently based on unconfirmed bookings or missing entry records.

Several affected parents described having their benefit stopped after cancelled holidays, missed flights due to illness, or journeys they never made. In one case, a childminder in England said she was told she had travelled to Spain despite not owning a passport or leaving the country for three years. Her payments were restored only after she contacted HMRC.

Concerns over data protection

Digital rights campaigners have raised serious concerns about how the data was used. The Open Rights Group questioned whether risks identified during a pilot phase were ignored when the system was rolled out nationally. Legal and policy officer Mariano delli Santi asked why the Information Commissioner’s Office had not launched a formal investigation into the handling of personal data.

Rollout paused amid review

Tomlinson told MPs that no new child benefit compliance inquiries using travel data were opened between 1 and 30 November, as officials focused on reviewing the roughly 23,500 existing cases. HMRC said the national rollout differed from the pilot scheme and insisted that travel data remained a useful risk indicator, allowing checks on less than 2% of claimants.

Opposition MPs and affected families, however, have called for safeguards to ensure innocent households are not again deprived of vital support through administrative error.

Excerpt (125–150 characters):
New figures show HMRC wrongly stopped child benefit for nearly two-thirds of families flagged by flawed travel data in a controversial anti-fraud drive.

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HMRC error saw child benefit wrongly stopped for most families

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HMRC admits nearly 63% of families targeted in a child benefit fraud crackdown were legitimate claimants, sparking outrage over flawed travel data use.

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child benefit, HMRC, UK welfare, data errors, parliament, newskarna