Government Must Act On Ombudsman's Report - Laws

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Wed 22nd Jun 2005

Responding to the Parliamentary Ombudsman's report Tax Credits: Putting Things Right, Liberal Democrat Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, David Laws MP said:

"The report's findings are a damning indictment of Gordon Brown's tax credit system. The message is clear - his attempt to micromanage the budgets of nine out of ten families has caused harsh and unfair consequences for millions of people.

"The Ombudsman's advice to write off all over payments caused by official error is a sensible and logical recommendation and one the Treasury would be wise to follow. If not, they risk undermining further what little faith people have left in the system.

"The Ombudsman is right to highlight the fact that it is the design of the system which is responsible for so many of the problems. Reassessing income at the end of the award is flawed and a return to a system of fixed awards would end this bureaucratic nightmare for millions of families."