To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the speed with which the Inland Revenue handles repayments of overpaid income tax.

The Inland Revenue gives priority to claims for repayment of tax, and this means that many people receive their repayments in a very short time. However, some of the Inland Revenue's specialist offices deal with people who make their claims at around the same time of year and, while every effort is made to cope with these peaks, they slow down the speed with which repayments of tax can be made to the people concerned.