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874356

	registered interest
	date	28/03/2018
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Low Pay
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their estimate of the number of (1) employees, and (2) other workers, in the UK who earn less than the personal tax threshold in any one job; and of those, how many are (a) male, and (b) female.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Altmann
	uin	HL6742
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/04/2018 answer text <p>Estimates of the number of individuals with earnings less than the Income Tax Personal Allowance in any one job are shown in the table below. The table relates to the 2015-16 tax year when the Personal Allowance was £10,600.</p><p> </p><p>The figures are for people employed and taxed through Pay As You Earn Income Tax and with self-employment income taxed through Self Assessment. Individuals included in the table may have had more than one job in the year where they earnt below the Personal Allowance. The figures also include individuals with an income above £10,600 in one job, but who also had at least one job with PAYE or self-employment earnings below £10,600 in 2015-16.</p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="3"><p>Individuals with earnings less than the Income Tax Personal Allowance in any one job, 2015-16 tax year (millions)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>Employees <sup>(1)</sup></p></td><td><p>Self employed <sup>(2)(3)</sup></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Male</p></td><td><p><del class="ministerial">8.34</del><ins class="ministerial">6.83</ins></p></td><td><p>2.11</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Female</p></td><td><p><del class="ministerial">6.83</del><ins class="ministerial">8.34</ins></p></td><td><p>1.55</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>All</p></td><td><p>15.17</p></td><td><p>3.66</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Notes</p><ol><li><p>Based on Pay As You Earn data. The earnings definition used is the same as used in the publication, <em>UK Real Time Information, Experimental Statistics</em>.</p></li><li><p>The figures for self-employment income sources are based on the 2015-16 Survey of Personal</p><p>Incomes and consistent with information published in tables 3.9 and 3.10 of HMRC’s Personal Incomes statistics, tables 3.1 to 3.11.</p></li><li><p>Includes those who were trading but made a loss for the tax year.</p></li></ol><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Bates question first answered 09/04/2018 13:27:34 question first ministerially corrected 28/06/2018 16:24:54 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates previous answer version 51495 answering member printed Lord Bates answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
	tabling member	4533 label Biography information for Baroness Altmann

837594

	registered interest
	date	05/02/2018
	answering body	HM Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	CaTreasury
	hansard heading	Freezing of Assets: Democratic Republic of Congo
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) individuals, (b) corporations and (c) other entities had assets frozen (i) in the UK, (ii) in the British Overseas Territories and (c) by UK-based institutions as a result of the sanctions applied to the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2017, and what estimate he has made of the value of those assets.
	tabling member constituency	Bishop Auckland
	tabling member printed	Helen Goodman
	uin	126713
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/02/2018 answer text <p>The approximate aggregate value of funds frozen in the UK (under EU Regulation 1183/2005 Democratic Republic of Congo) was £ 580,000<del class="ministerial">,000</del> at the close of business on 30 September 2016. The figures for the 2017 round of UK frozen funds reporting are in the process of being finalised and as such are not currently available. The frozen funds continue to belong to the individuals and entities listed under the Regulation and are not seized or otherwise held by HM Government. The figure is provided on an aggregate basis so as not to indirectly disclose the value of funds held by particular individuals or entities.</p><p> </p><p>British Overseas Territories adopt all Sanctions listings that the UK do, to be in line with international standards. The specific information on the number of people or entities who have assets frozen in the overseas territories lies with the individual territories themselves.</p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen question first answered 12/02/2018 15:34:32 question first ministerially corrected 15/02/2018 10:26:38 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen previous answer version 40880 answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
	tabling member	1484 label Biography information for Helen Goodman

837598

	registered interest
	date	05/02/2018
	answering body	HM Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	CaTreasury
	hansard heading	Sanctions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many suspected breaches of financial sanctions were reported to the Treasury’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) in 2017; what the value was of those breaches; and how many investigations into breaches, by sanctions regime, have (a) been opened and (b) are ongoing since new powers to impose penalties under the Policing and Crime Act entered into force.
	tabling member constituency	Bishop Auckland
	tabling member printed	Helen Goodman
	uin	126717
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/02/2018 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">A total of 118 suspected breach cases were reported to Treasury’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) during the calendar year of 2017. The approximate aggregate value of these suspected breaches was £117million. As of April 2017, a total of 84 suspected breaches have been reported to OFSI since OFSI gained the ability to impose monetary penalties under the Policing and Crime Act 2017- I am unable to comment further on ongoing assessments.</del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">A total of 133 suspected breach cases were reported to Treasury’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) during the calendar year of 2017. The approximate aggregate value of these suspected breaches as reported to OFSI was £1.4bn. As some of these cases are still under investigation this total may change as further information comes to light.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"> As of April 2017, a total of 103 suspected breaches have been reported to OFSI since OFSI gained the ability to impose monetary penalties under the Policing and Crime Act 2017- I am unable to comment further on ongoing assessments.</ins></p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen question first answered 08/02/2018 17:31:45 question first ministerially corrected 21/02/2018 09:59:39 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen previous answer version 40485 answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
	tabling member	1484 label Biography information for Helen Goodman

693149

	registered interest
	date	22/02/2017
	answering body	HM Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	CaTreasury
	hansard heading	Treasury: Procurement
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many civil servants of his Department oversee contracts which have been awarded to external providers.
	tabling member constituency	Hemsworth
	tabling member printed	Jon Trickett
	uin	65005
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/03/2017 answer text <p>The number of recorded contract managers is relative to the number of live contracts let across the Department. As at 27 February 2016, there are 8<del class="ministerial">9</del><ins class="ministerial">6</ins> recorded civil servants with responsibility for managing contracts.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Brighton, Kemptown answering member printed Simon Kirby question first answered 02/03/2017 11:37:23 question first ministerially corrected 21/03/2017 13:14:34 answering member 3929 label Biography information for Simon Kirby previous answer version 38017 answering member constituency Brighton, Kemptown answering member printed Simon Kirby answering member 3929 label Biography information for Simon Kirby
	tabling member	410 label Biography information for Jon Trickett

749300

	registered interest
	date	06/07/2017
	answering body	HM Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	CaTreasury
	hansard heading	Office of Tax Simplification: Secondment
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many secondments there have been from (a) the Office of Tax Simplification to placements outside of Government and (b) from outside Government to the Office of Tax Simplification since July 2012.
	tabling member constituency	Hemsworth
	tabling member printed	Jon Trickett
	uin	3399
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/07/2017 answer text <p>The Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) is an independent Office of the Treasury established on a permanent, statutory basis through the Finance Act 2016. Its objective is to provide independent advice to the Chancellor on simplifying the tax system. In the course of the OTS meeting this objective there have been no secondments from the OTS outside Government and <del class="ministerial">nine</del> <ins class="ministerial">ten </ins> secondments from outside Government to the OTS since 2012. All of these secondments were on a part-time basis. This includes one part-time secondment in the current financial year (2017-18).</p> answering member constituency Central Devon answering member printed Mel Stride question first answered 11/07/2017 15:46:53 question first ministerially corrected 14/07/2017 09:25:00 answering member 3935 label Biography information for Mel Stride previous answer version 3505 answering member constituency Central Devon answering member printed Mel Stride answering member 3935 label Biography information for Mel Stride
	tabling member	410 label Biography information for Jon Trickett

417094

	registered interest
	date	07/09/2015
	answering body	HM Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	CaTreasury
	hansard heading	Revenue and Customs: Telephone Services
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord O’Neill of Gatley on 30 July (HL1654), whether HM Revenue and Customs has target times by which members of the public can reasonably expect to get through on the telephone and speak to an official; and by what percentage extent there has been a change over the past three years in the number of telephone calls from the public seeking information or assistance from that Department.
	tabling member printed	Lord Quirk
	uin	HL2014
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/09/2015 answer text <p>As stated in an earlier response (HL897), HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) publishes its performance data quarterly on the gov.uk website.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>HMRC handles 50 million calls a year from customers. It aims to answer 80 per cent of all calls and accepts that it is not currently delivering on that aspiration. HMRC published a press release on 25 June in which it apologised for the poor service, acknowledged that some customers were struggling to get through on the telephone and outlined a number of initiatives it is putting in place to improve performance.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Bridges of Headley question first answered 21/09/2015 15:54:07 question first ministerially corrected 22/09/2015 14:57:41 answering member 4535 label Biography information for Lord Bridges of Headley previous answer version 22479 answering member printed Lord Bridges answering member 3524
	tabling member	3254 label Biography information for Lord Quirk

417025

	registered interest
	date	07/09/2015
	answering body	HM Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	CaTreasury
	hansard heading	Public Expenditure
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether decisions on the next Comprehensive Spending Review will be taken before the outcome of the next Strategic Defence and Security Review.
	tabling member printed	Lord West of Spithead
	uin	HL1945
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/09/2015 answer text <p>The Spending Review will be published on 25<sup>th</sup> November, and work is currently underway on the National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) which we expect to publish before the end of the year. These reviews will be closely aligned, recognising that economic security and national security are two sides of the same coin.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>At the Summer Budget, the Government committed to increased spending on defence and security, and to meet the properly measured NATO pledge to spend 2 per cent of GDP on defence every year of this decade. The allocation of a Joint Security Fund of up to an additional £1.5 billion per year by 2020/21, available to the Armed Forces and Security and Intelligence agencies, will also be based on the conclusions of the SDSR.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Bridges of Headley question first answered 21/09/2015 15:53:26 question first ministerially corrected 22/09/2015 14:57:30 answering member 4535 label Biography information for Lord Bridges of Headley previous answer version 22475 answering member printed Lord Bridges answering member 3524
	tabling member	3834 label Biography information for Lord West of Spithead

574020

	registered interest
	date	02/09/2016
	answering body	HM Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	CaTreasury
	hansard heading	Concentrix
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the HM Revenue and Customs Benefits and Credits, Error and Fraud Adding Capacity 444 contract between SYNNEX-Concentrix UK Limited and HM Revenue and Customs, if he will publish the reports completed at the end of each Measurement Period on key performance indicators and standard performance indicators since that contract commenced.
	tabling member constituency	Sheffield, Heeley
	tabling member printed	Louise Haigh
	uin	44655
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/09/2016 answer text <p>HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and SYNNEX-Concentrix have arrangements for regular and frequent communications including weekly and monthly meetings as well as other discussions on a day-to-day basis.</p><p> </p><p>Since the beginning of the contract between SYNNEX-Concentrix and HMRC in November 2014 to 11 September 2016, SYNNEX-Concentrix have considered around 667,000 cases of which around 103,000 cases have been amended</p><p> </p><p>The total savings in Annually Managed Expenditure were £2.3 million in 2014-15, £122.3 million in 2015-16 and £159.5 million in 2016-17 to mid- August 2016. The total to date is £284.1 million since commencement of the contract in November 14.</p><p> </p><p>SYNNEX-Concentrix has achieved the 75 day service level agreement throughout the contract period to date.</p><p> </p><p>Since the contract variation in October 2015 to the end of August 2016, there have been a) 13 Amber Green Failures, b) 9 Amber failures, c) 10 red failures and d) 13 Black Failures of Key Performance Indicators. During this same period there have been 1,410 checks of these indicators.</p><p> </p><p>Since the start of the contract, the average waiting time for SYNNEX-Concentrix to answer telephone calls has been 6 minutes and 53 seconds and the maximum waiting time for one individual was 1 hour 5 minutes and 34 seconds.</p><p> </p><p>Since the contract commenced in November 2014 to mid-August 2016, the average length of time taken between SYNNEX-Concentrix starting to work a mandatory reconsideration and SYNNEX-Concentrix making a decision is 23 days.</p><p> </p><p>These cases are not generally erroneous, but tend to arise when further information is provided by the claimant, allowing SYNNEX-Concentrix to review the case after the initial decision has been made.</p><p>There are currently no tax credit Mandatory Reconsiderations being worked by SYNNEX-Concentrix that are over the target timescale. The table below provides the number of mandatory reconsiderations and appeals that have been received in each financial year since the commencement of the contract.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Appeals</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Number Received</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014/15</p></td><td><p><del class="ministerial">0</del><ins class="ministerial">3</ins></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015/16</p></td><td><p><del class="ministerial">365</del><ins class="ministerial">383</ins></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016/17 to <del class="ministerial">mid-</del><ins class="ministerial">31</ins>August 16</p></td><td><p><del class="ministerial">167</del><ins class="ministerial">169</ins></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Mandatory Reconsiderations</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Number Received</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014/15</p></td><td><p><del class="ministerial">436</del><ins class="ministerial">76</ins></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015/16</p></td><td><p><del class="ministerial">2042</del><ins class="ministerial">7904</ins></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016/17 to <del class="ministerial">mid-</del><ins class="ministerial">31</ins>August 16</p></td><td><p><del class="ministerial">7989</del><ins class="ministerial">3495</ins></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>The total number of appeals received is about 0.08% of all decisions SYNNEX-Concentrix made in the same period. The total number of Mandatory Reconsiderations received is about 1.6% of all decisions SYNNEX-Concentrix made.</p><p> </p><p>Tax credits claimants are asked to provide information within 30 days when undergoing checks for error and fraud.</p><p> </p><p>The information about the estimate of the number of recipients of child tax credit and working tax credit whose payments have been erroneously stopped in each year from 2010 to date is not available in the form requested.</p><p> </p><p>However, if a claimant believes that an incorrect decision<del class="ministerial">s</del> has been made, they are able to request a review (now known as a Mandatory Reconsideration). If a claimant believes the review decision to be wrong, they may appeal to an independent tribunal. During reviews or at appeal, additional information is often provided that could have supported the original claim, had it been made available earlier in the process. The proportion of reviews and appeals that result in the original decision being changed remains small in proportion to the total number of cases processed.</p><p> </p><p>Tax credits are often reinstated when information to support the claim is provided after the initial decision has been taken. Since November 2014 to mid-August 2016 the Contractor has amended 6,755 decisions following the receipt of a mandatory reconsideration. Since the start of the contract to mid-August 2016 the Authority has amended 280 decisions following consideration of customer appeals from a total of around 660,000 cases where SYNNEX-Concentrix has completed its checks.</p><p> </p><p>HMRC does not hold information on how many of these were reinstated following a cancellation and how many were adjusted following an amendment to an award.</p><p> </p><p>For reasons of commercial sensitivity, HMRC does not disclose its intent around either Clauses B5 or E6 of the contract. For similar reasons, HMRC does not publish the reports completed at the end of each Measurement Period at this time nor disclose the number and value of fines and penalties incurred by SYNNEX-Concentrix under its contract with HMRC.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Battersea answering member printed Jane Ellison question first answered 12/09/2016 16:34:44 question first ministerially corrected 02/12/2016 11:32:40 answering member 3918 label Biography information for Jane Ellison previous answer version 11006 answering member constituency Battersea answering member printed Jane Ellison answering member 3918 label Biography information for Jane Ellison
	tabling member	4473 label Biography information for Louise Haigh

574021

	registered interest
	date	02/09/2016
	answering body	HM Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	CaTreasury
	hansard heading	Concentrix
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the HM Revenue and Customs Benefits and Credits, Error and Fraud Adding Capacity 444 contract between SYNNEX-Concentrix UK Limited and HM Revenue and Customs, how many (a) amber green performance failures, (b) amber performance failures, (c) red performance failures and (d) black performance failures have been incurred by the contractor.
	tabling member constituency	Sheffield, Heeley
	tabling member printed	Louise Haigh
	uin	44656
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/09/2016 answer text <p>HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and SYNNEX-Concentrix have arrangements for regular and frequent communications including weekly and monthly meetings as well as other discussions on a day-to-day basis.</p><p> </p><p>Since the beginning of the contract between SYNNEX-Concentrix and HMRC in November 2014 to 11 September 2016, SYNNEX-Concentrix have considered around 667,000 cases of which around 103,000 cases have been amended</p><p> </p><p>The total savings in Annually Managed Expenditure were £2.3 million in 2014-15, £122.3 million in 2015-16 and £159.5 million in 2016-17 to mid- August 2016. The total to date is £284.1 million since commencement of the contract in November 14.</p><p> </p><p>SYNNEX-Concentrix has achieved the 75 day service level agreement throughout the contract period to date.</p><p> </p><p>Since the contract variation in October 2015 to the end of August 2016, there have been a) 13 Amber Green Failures, b) 9 Amber failures, c) 10 red failures and d) 13 Black Failures of Key Performance Indicators. During this same period there have been 1,410 checks of these indicators.</p><p> </p><p>Since the start of the contract, the average waiting time for SYNNEX-Concentrix to answer telephone calls has been 6 minutes and 53 seconds and the maximum waiting time for one individual was 1 hour 5 minutes and 34 seconds.</p><p> </p><p>Since the contract commenced in November 2014 to mid-August 2016, the average length of time taken between SYNNEX-Concentrix starting to work a mandatory reconsideration and SYNNEX-Concentrix making a decision is 23 days.</p><p> </p><p>These cases are not generally erroneous, but tend to arise when further information is provided by the claimant, allowing SYNNEX-Concentrix to review the case after the initial decision has been made.</p><p>There are currently no tax credit Mandatory Reconsiderations being worked by SYNNEX-Concentrix that are over the target timescale. The table below provides the number of mandatory reconsiderations and appeals that have been received in each financial year since the commencement of the contract.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Appeals</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Number Received</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014/15</p></td><td><p><del class="ministerial">0</del><ins class="ministerial">3</ins></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015/16</p></td><td><p><del class="ministerial">365</del><ins class="ministerial">383</ins></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016/17 to <del class="ministerial">mid-</del><ins class="ministerial">31</ins>August 16</p></td><td><p><del class="ministerial">167</del><ins class="ministerial">169</ins></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Mandatory Reconsiderations</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Number Received</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014/15</p></td><td><p><del class="ministerial">436</del><ins class="ministerial">76</ins></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015/16</p></td><td><p><del class="ministerial">2042</del><ins class="ministerial">7904</ins></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016/17 to <del class="ministerial">mid-</del><ins class="ministerial">31</ins>August 16</p></td><td><p><del class="ministerial">7989</del><ins class="ministerial">3495</ins></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>The total number of appeals received is about 0.08% of all decisions SYNNEX-Concentrix made in the same period. The total number of Mandatory Reconsiderations received is about 1.6% of all decisions SYNNEX-Concentrix made.</p><p> </p><p>Tax credits claimants are asked to provide information within 30 days when undergoing checks for error and fraud.</p><p> </p><p>The information about the estimate of the number of recipients of child tax credit and working tax credit whose payments have been erroneously stopped in each year from 2010 to date is not available in the form requested.</p><p> </p><p>However, if a claimant believes that an incorrect decision<del class="ministerial">s</del> has been made, they are able to request a review (now known as a Mandatory Reconsideration). If a claimant believes the review decision to be wrong, they may appeal to an independent tribunal. During reviews or at appeal, additional information is often provided that could have supported the original claim, had it been made available earlier in the process. The proportion of reviews and appeals that result in the original decision being changed remains small in proportion to the total number of cases processed.</p><p> </p><p>Tax credits are often reinstated when information to support the claim is provided after the initial decision has been taken. Since November 2014 to mid-August 2016 the Contractor has amended 6,755 decisions following the receipt of a mandatory reconsideration. Since the start of the contract to mid-August 2016 the Authority has amended 280 decisions following consideration of customer appeals from a total of around 660,000 cases where SYNNEX-Concentrix has completed its checks.</p><p> </p><p>HMRC does not hold information on how many of these were reinstated following a cancellation and how many were adjusted following an amendment to an award.</p><p> </p><p>For reasons of commercial sensitivity, HMRC does not disclose its intent around either Clauses B5 or E6 of the contract. For similar reasons, HMRC does not publish the reports completed at the end of each Measurement Period at this time nor disclose the number and value of fines and penalties incurred by SYNNEX-Concentrix under its contract with HMRC.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Battersea answering member printed Jane Ellison question first answered 12/09/2016 16:34:44 question first ministerially corrected 02/12/2016 11:34:02 answering member 3918 label Biography information for Jane Ellison previous answer version 11007 answering member constituency Battersea answering member printed Jane Ellison answering member 3918 label Biography information for Jane Ellison
	tabling member	4473 label Biography information for Louise Haigh

574024

	registered interest
	date	02/09/2016
	answering body	HM Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	CaTreasury
	hansard heading	Concentrix
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the (a) number and (b) value of fines and penalties incurred by SYNNEX-Concentrix under its contract with HM Revenue and Customs relating to error and fraud.
	tabling member constituency	Sheffield, Heeley
	tabling member printed	Louise Haigh
	uin	44719
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/09/2016 answer text <p>HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and SYNNEX-Concentrix have arrangements for regular and frequent communications including weekly and monthly meetings as well as other discussions on a day-to-day basis.</p><p> </p><p>Since the beginning of the contract between SYNNEX-Concentrix and HMRC in November 2014 to 11 September 2016, SYNNEX-Concentrix have considered around 667,000 cases of which around 103,000 cases have been amended</p><p> </p><p>The total savings in Annually Managed Expenditure were £2.3 million in 2014-15, £122.3 million in 2015-16 and £159.5 million in 2016-17 to mid- August 2016. The total to date is £284.1 million since commencement of the contract in November 14.</p><p> </p><p>SYNNEX-Concentrix has achieved the 75 day service level agreement throughout the contract period to date.</p><p> </p><p>Since the contract variation in October 2015 to the end of August 2016, there have been a) 13 Amber Green Failures, b) 9 Amber failures, c) 10 red failures and d) 13 Black Failures of Key Performance Indicators. During this same period there have been 1,410 checks of these indicators.</p><p> </p><p>Since the start of the contract, the average waiting time for SYNNEX-Concentrix to answer telephone calls has been 6 minutes and 53 seconds and the maximum waiting time for one individual was 1 hour 5 minutes and 34 seconds.</p><p> </p><p>Since the contract commenced in November 2014 to mid-August 2016, the average length of time taken between SYNNEX-Concentrix starting to work a mandatory reconsideration and SYNNEX-Concentrix making a decision is 23 days.</p><p> </p><p>These cases are not generally erroneous, but tend to arise when further information is provided by the claimant, allowing SYNNEX-Concentrix to review the case after the initial decision has been made.</p><p>There are currently no tax credit Mandatory Reconsiderations being worked by SYNNEX-Concentrix that are over the target timescale. The table below provides the number of mandatory reconsiderations and appeals that have been received in each financial year since the commencement of the contract.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Appeals</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Number Received</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014/15</p></td><td><p><del class="ministerial">0</del><ins class="ministerial">3</ins></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015/16</p></td><td><p><del class="ministerial">365</del><ins class="ministerial">383</ins></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016/17 to <del class="ministerial">mid-</del><ins class="ministerial">31</ins>August 16</p></td><td><p><del class="ministerial">167</del><ins class="ministerial">169</ins></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Mandatory Reconsiderations</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Number Received</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014/15</p></td><td><p><del class="ministerial">436</del><ins class="ministerial">76</ins></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015/16</p></td><td><p><del class="ministerial">2042</del><ins class="ministerial">7904</ins></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016/17 to <del class="ministerial">mid-</del><ins class="ministerial">31</ins>August 16</p></td><td><p><del class="ministerial">7989</del><ins class="ministerial">3495</ins></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>The total number of appeals received is about 0.08% of all decisions SYNNEX-Concentrix made in the same period. The total number of Mandatory Reconsiderations received is about 1.6% of all decisions SYNNEX-Concentrix made.</p><p> </p><p>Tax credits claimants are asked to provide information within 30 days when undergoing checks for error and fraud.</p><p> </p><p>The information about the estimate of the number of recipients of child tax credit and working tax credit whose payments have been erroneously stopped in each year from 2010 to date is not available in the form requested.</p><p> </p><p>However, if a claimant believes that an incorrect decision<del class="ministerial">s</del> has been made, they are able to request a review (now known as a Mandatory Reconsideration). If a claimant believes the review decision to be wrong, they may appeal to an independent tribunal. During reviews or at appeal, additional information is often provided that could have supported the original claim, had it been made available earlier in the process. The proportion of reviews and appeals that result in the original decision being changed remains small in proportion to the total number of cases processed.</p><p> </p><p>Tax credits are often reinstated when information to support the claim is provided after the initial decision has been taken. Since November 2014 to mid-August 2016 the Contractor has amended 6,755 decisions following the receipt of a mandatory reconsideration. Since the start of the contract to mid-August 2016 the Authority has amended 280 decisions following consideration of customer appeals from a total of around 660,000 cases where SYNNEX-Concentrix has completed its checks.</p><p> </p><p>HMRC does not hold information on how many of these were reinstated following a cancellation and how many were adjusted following an amendment to an award.</p><p> </p><p>For reasons of commercial sensitivity, HMRC does not disclose its intent around either Clauses B5 or E6 of the contract. For similar reasons, HMRC does not publish the reports completed at the end of each Measurement Period at this time nor disclose the number and value of fines and penalties incurred by SYNNEX-Concentrix under its contract with HMRC.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Battersea answering member printed Jane Ellison question first answered 12/09/2016 16:34:44 question first ministerially corrected 02/12/2016 11:29:10 answering member 3918 label Biography information for Jane Ellison previous answer version 11008 answering member constituency Battersea answering member printed Jane Ellison answering member 3918 label Biography information for Jane Ellison
	tabling member	4473 label Biography information for Louise Haigh