(2) what the average time taken to (a) process and (b) issue claims for child benefit and tax credits was in each month since March 2008; and what targets the Department has for the processing and payment of child benefit;
(3) how many claims have been delayed as a result of child benefit and tax credit applications being lost in each month since March 2008; and what the average length of such delays has been.
Information on the number of complaints received in relation to child benefit and tax credits is published annually in the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) departmental report. Separate information on the number of complaints received in the Department as a result of processing delays is not available.
HMRC sets its tax credits processing targets annually.
For information about HMRC targets and performance outturn in relation to tax credits, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Northavon (Steve Webb) on 24 February 2009, Official Report, columns 534-36W. Outturn for 2008-09 will be available later in the year.
HMRC introduced new targets in 2008-09 that measured the time taken to pay new child benefit claims. HMRC paid 65 per cent. of new claims in nine working days against a target of 69 per cent. and paid new child benefit claims in an average of 28 calendar days against a target of 20 calendar days.
More complex claims, including those from customers arriving from abroad, often require HMRC to make more detailed inquiries, and so HMRC may be unable to process and pay them within the usual target times. HMRC is continuously working to identify how resources can be most effectively deployed to achieve its revised aims.
Information on the numbers of applications lost is not available.