The Comptroller and Auditor General, Amyas Morse, has qualified his audit opinion on the regularity of the 2015-16 accounts of the Department for Work and Pensions. This is owing to the unacceptably high level of fraud and error in benefit expenditure, other than State Pension where the level of fraud and error is lower.
Amyas Morse, the Comptroller and Auditor General, has today issued a report on the 2014-15 accounts of HM Revenue & Customs.
This memorandum has been prepared to support the Committee of Public Accounts consideration of HMRC’s approach to replacing its contract for IT services with Capgemini, known as Aspire. We set out HMRC’s approach, its business cases and the risks it has to manage. It does not seek to evaluate HMRC’s approach or progress, and therefore does not draw conclusions.
June 2016
This impacts case study shows that HM Revenue & Customs has implemented more than 80% of our 130 recommendations since 2010, leading to significant reduction in tax avoidance and improvements in accountability and governance regarding tax disputes.
It is one example of financial or non-financial benefits realised in 2014 as a result of our involvement, all of which are set out in our interactive PDF.
HMRC has met its targets to raise more tax revenue in the short-term; however, an estimated £16 billion is lost to tax fraud each year. HMRC needs to improve the way it uses data and analysis to understand the effect of its actions to tackle fraud.
The NAO is publishing a suite of short guides, one for each government department, to assist House of Commons Select Committees.
By reducing the number of its offices and moving to a regional centre model HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) hopes to significantly reduce its running costs and modernise the way it works. HMRC’s original plan has proved unrealistic and is now reconsidering the scope and timing of the programme. Any changes will need to be carefully managed to avoid diminishing the long term value of the strategy.
It is important that the Government ensures its compliance programme reflects the changing risks within the labour market, and maintains its progress in ensuring all employers pay the minimum wage.
HM Revenue & Customs’ (HMRC’s) contract with Synnex-Concentrix UK Ltd was terminated in November 2016. The contract was designed to add capacity to HMRC’s programme of interventions to prevent or detect error and fraud in personal tax credits awards. HMRC estimated that the contract would save £1 billion over its three year life time and an estimated £193 million, excluding Concentrix’s costs, had been saved by the time of contract termination.
The government continues to lose large amounts of money through fraud and error overpayments and many vulnerable people get less support than they are entitled to.
HMRC aimed to move more customers online thereby reducing staff costs but significant numbers of staff were let go before technical improvements were completed leading to a collapse in service quality in 2015. Services have since improved.
The Department for Work & Pensions should have increased its focus on Housing Benefit fraud and error sooner, and is now facing an escalating problem.
There are more than 1000 tax reliefs in the UK tax system. The NAO intends to carry out future work evaluating how they are developed and implemented.
This Departmental Overview is one of 17 we have produced covering our work on each major government department. It summarises our work on the HM Revenue & Customs 2012-13
Within the programme of improvement already started by HMRC, the NAO helped ensure that, in January 2013, HMRC committed to improving customer service.
This NAO impacts case study represents one example where there has been some beneficial change, whether financial or non-financial, resulting from our involvement.
HM Treasury and HMRC do not keep track of tax reliefs intended to change behaviour, or adequately report to Parliament on whether tax reliefs work as expected.
The report details progress by HMRC in stabilising and operating the PAYE service and its progress towards the implementation of its new Real Time Information service. The report also covers HMRC’s performance in tackling VAT fraud, and in reducing error and fraud in personal tax credits.
Review of a sample of the data systems underpinning the input and impact indicators in HM Revenue & Customs’ Business Plan, Common Areas of Spend and wider management information.
This review was carried out on the 2012-15 Business Plan. Revised Business Plans were issued in June 2013.
Tobacco smuggling is a significant threat to tax revenues. HMRC’s renewed strategy sets out the right measures but the Department’s performance is disappointing.
The report covers HMRC’s progress in operating the PAYE service, its implementation of its new Real Time Information service and its performance in tax collection and in reducing error and fraud in personal tax credits.