The paymaster general has refused to give details about the
amount of time the child and working tax credit helpline lost
through computer crashes. However, rapid improvements in IT
availability have been promised.
The tax credit system has been dogged with problems. It failed to
deliver cash to pay packets and the helpline failed
repeatedly.
Shadow cabinet minister David Lidington asked chancellor Gordon
Brown to "list the time and duration of each occasion when staff
have been unable to access the computer system".
Answering for the chancellor, Treasury minister Dawn Primarolo
said, "The IT system has not been working as well as expected and
there has been unscheduled downtime as a result. The Inland Revenue
are working urgently to improve the system.''
