Tax credits and early years eBulletin - November 2022

Extension of Scottish child payment to under 16s, changes to the best start grant, Young Patients Family Fund and the Adjudicator’s Report.

In this issue

Scottish child payment increased and extended to under 16s

From 14 November 2022, the Scottish child payment is being increased to £25 per week and extended to children under 16 in families receiving qualifying benefits:

  • universal credit
  • child tax credit
  • working tax credit
  • pension credit
  • income support
  • income-based jobseeker's allowance (JSA)
  • income-related employment and support allowance (ESA)

It is necessary to apply for the Scottish child payment. Claims can be made online at mygov.scot or by phone 0800 182 2222.

Changes to best start grant

The same regulation also makes changes to best start grant, including:

  • From 28 November 2022, people in receipt of Scottish child payment can receive the early learning payment or school age payment without having to apply for it.
  • From 14 November, 2022, the higher rate of the pregnancy and baby payment is payable for people who:
    • have been granted refugee status, humanitarian protection, or leave under the Afghanistan or Ukraine resettlement schemes, who have a child/children born before they arrived in the UK;
    • have been forced to leave their home with a child/children due to
      domestic abuse;
    • have taken on responsibility for a child/children who was not their own when that child was more than 12 months old.
  •  Amendments to the definition of kinship carer and domestic abuse

View the The Social Security (Miscellaneous Amendment and Transitional Provision) (Scotland) Regulations 2022

Young Patients Family Fund

Families with a child in hospital can claim for the costs of travel and food through the Young Patients Family Fund. This is available to parents, primary carers and siblings under 18 when a baby, child or young person under 18 is receiving inpatient care, regardless of income. The Fund can cover transport to hospital once a day, meals and in some cases, accommodation. The claim should be made within 3 months of the young inpatient being discharged from hospital. The Young Patients Family Fund has replaced the Neonatal Expenses Fund and includes support for parents with premature babies.

For more information and how to apply see mygov.scot/young-patients-family-fund

Adjudicator’s Report: Transfer of tax credits overpayments to DWP

The Adjudicator’s Office, which investigates complaints about HMRC, published its annual report earlier this year. During the year 2021 to 2022 the Adjudicator resolved 991 complaints from HMRC customers, of which 32% were partially or fully upheld. The annual report includes case studies, of which Case Study 5 concerns old tax credits overpayments being transferred to the DWP to recover:

For nearly a decade after the overpayment arose and after the tax credit payments ended there was no contact by the Tax Credits Office (TCO). The overpayment was legally recoverable and the TCO followed their guidance by transferring it to the DWP. However, when the Mr and Mrs E complained, the TCO failed to consider their financial and health circumstances. Neither did they consider the impact of their delays in recovering the debt on the customer’s ability to repay it.

The complaint was about the TCO’s handling of the debt and the TCO should have taken responsibility for resolving it, without referring the customers to pursue the matter with the DWP. The TCO were solely responsible for collecting the underpayment for well over six years but failed to do so. We found it unreasonable for the TCO pass responsibility for resolving the complaint to the DWP.

The TCO agreed to recall and waive the debt and paid a further £100 redress.

HMRC always follows Adjudicator’s recommendations, and case studies from the annual report can be used to support complaints in similar cases.

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