TAX CREDITS (No. 2)

That this House notes the continuing concerns about the operation of the tax credits system expressed by the Parliamentary Ombudsman in her recent report Tax Credits: getting it wrong?; expresses concern that the tax credit system continues to cause unnecessary distress and hardship, particularly for people on low incomes; further notes that reports by the Ombudsman and Citizens Advice both report that continued problems are causing some claimants to wish to opt-out of the system; notes the Ombudsman's view that even when the system operates as intended it appears sometimes to work against the objectives of child poverty reduction and making work pay; and calls on the Government to bring forward proposals for radical reform to address the financial insecurity, confusion and hardship which are a feature of the current tax credit system.