Inquiry launched into HMRC anti-fraud scheme that wrongly cut child benefits

Flawed Home Office travel records identified thousands of parents suspected of claiming while living abroad

The UK’s public spending watchdog has launched an investigation into a controversial government anti-fraud scheme that resulted in thousands of families being wrongly stripped of their child benefit payments.

The National Audit Office (NAO) will examine how HM Revenue and Customs designed and implemented a scheme that used flawed Home Office travel records to identify parents suspected of living abroad while still claiming child benefit.