CHANCELLOR'S STATEMENT ON HM REVENUE AND CUSTOMS

That this House notes with concern that the Chancellor's statement on the loss of data by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) failed to make reference to the impact of job cuts and budget cuts in HMRC, including the loss of 158 jobs in HMRC's Information Management Services in the last six months, cost cutting meaning that the Department may have been unable to afford the costs associated with filtering the child benefit data for the National Audit Office and the failure to ensure that the manual on protective security referred to by the Government is available to the majority of staff; and urges the Government to halt the job cuts, examine the role of the private sector and ensure that HMRC has the resources it needs to restore public trust.