Overview
- HMRC told MPs that 17,048 of 23,794 suspended claims were legitimate, with only about 1,109 confirmed non‑compliant and roughly 5,600 cases still under review.
- The nationwide rollout dropped PAYE verification and depended on incomplete Home Office travel records, which misread common Northern Ireland–Republic of Ireland journeys and missed return trips.
- Investigations highlighted “no show” flight bookings in border data that wrongly flagged parents as having left the UK despite not boarding those flights.
- Parents were sent extensive questionnaires and asked for medical, school and bank records, with MPs hearing accounts of fear, stress and financial strain.
- HMRC’s chief executive apologized, said payments have been backdated and PAYE checks reinstated, and the Treasury Committee signaled ongoing scrutiny of the scheme’s failures.