Half a million people hit by child benefits payment glitch
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has apologised after around half a million people did not receive their child benefit payments on time.
Around 30 per cent of child benefit payments scheduled for Monday were not made - equating to around 500,000 people being affected.
HMRC said it is working urgently to resolve the issue and that it will not impact tomorrow’s child benefit payments.
An HMRC spokesperson said: “We’re sorry that some customers’ child benefit payments have not arrived as scheduled and we are working urgently to resolve the issue.
“The issues that caused payment problems today will not impact payments scheduled for tomorrow.”
Child benefit is usually paid every four weeks on a Monday or a Tuesday.
Some people may receive the benefit weekly, for example if they are a single parent or receiving certain other benefits, such as universal credit.
HMRC also placed a statement on X, formerly Twitter, which said: “We’re sorry that some customers’ Child Benefit payments have not arrived as scheduled and we are working urgently to resolve the issue.
“There’s no need for customers to call us and we will provide updates here as soon as they are available.”
As of August 2023, 6.91 million families were in receipt of child benefit payments.
The weekly child benefit allowance is generally £25.60 for an eldest or only child and £16.95 per child for additional children.
People may be eligible for child benefit if they are responsible for a child under 16 and live in the UK.
The issue with payments was caused by a processing error.
People who have been left out of pocket may want to complain to HMRC, which has a complaints section on its website at http://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-revenue-customs/contact/complain-about-hmrc
Additional reporting by PA
