The taxman has failed Britain’s poor

Today we are witnessing a significant failure of the UK state. This morning, the personal finance campaigner Martin Lewis reported that around 30 per cent of families had not received their latest child benefit payment. HMRC, which administers the payments, said it was ‘working to resolve the issue’ and advising claimants to ‘continue to check your bank account throughout the day’. This evening, HMRC said that 500,000 claimants had been affected.

Child Benefit is worth £24 per week for the eldest child and £15.90 for every child thereafter. These sums will seem trivial to those with means but to poor and low-paid families they are a financial lifeline. The Daily Mirror has gathered social media posts from unpaid recipients saying HMRC’s error has left them unable to afford food or bus fares for their children. Families living in precarious financial circumstances are also more likely to rely on pay-as-you-go energy meters, mobile phones and broadband dongles.