Child Benefit: Personal Records

James Brokenshire
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many officials of (a) HM Revenue and Customs and (b) other Departments or agencies have access to (i) the entire child support database and (ii) the entire child tax credit database.

Jane Kennedy
Child benefit and tax credits are both administered by HMRC.

On 20 November 2007 the Chancellor announced an independent review of HMRC's data handling procedures to be conducted by Kieran Poynter, the chair of PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The interim report was published on 17 December 2007 and is available in the Library of the House.

Malcolm Bruce
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer to what year the earliest child benefit case whose records were recently misplaced by HM Revenue and Customs dates back.

Jane Kennedy
[holding answer 29 November 2007]: The Acting Chairman of HM Revenue and Customs has written to all customers affected by the loss of child benefit data.

The missing data relates to the personal details of claimants, of child benefit and their children. Child benefit is payable in respect of a child who is under the age of 16, or a person who is aged 16 or over but under 20 years where they are in qualifying full-time education or approved training.

Child benefit claimant records are deleted five years after the award of the youngest child in the family has ceased.

The information is not available in the format requested and is available only at disproportionate costs.

Mr. Amess
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his statement of 20 November 2007, Official Report, columns 1101-02, on HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), how many of the individual records missing in the transfer of information from HMRC are former claimants of child benefit resident in Southend West constituency; what the policy is of HMRC for the storing of information of former claimants of child benefit; and if he will make a statement

Jane Kennedy
I refer the hon. Member to the statement given in the House by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 20 November 2007, Official Report, columns 1101-04.

The missing information contains details of all child benefit recipients, including those in Southend West constituency.

Information on families receiving child benefit at 31 August 2006 by constituency and local authority are published as part of National Statistics and can be found in Tables 2 and 3 of child benefit statistics geographical analysis which are available on HMRC's website at:

http//www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/child_benefit/geog-aug06.pdf

IT records for child benefit claimants are deleted five years after the award of the youngest child in the family has ceased.