Labour has called an Opposition Day Debate in the House of Commons on Wednesday 26th October, and will call on the Government to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the performance of HMRC’s Concentrix contract, and reimburse those who have had their tax credits withdrawn unfairly.

Labour’s motion is:

That this House notes that Concentrix has not fully met the performance standards set out in its contract with the HM Revenue and Customs to correct tax credit claims, and welcomes the announcement that the services performed by Concentrix will be brought back in-house to HMRC next year; and calls upon the Government to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the performance of Concentrix HMRC’s contract with Concentrix, which includes a consideration of the potential impact on other HMRC services, take urgent action to compensate people who have erroneously had tax credits withdrawn by the company, and in doing so mitigate any adverse impact or reduction in service for claimants.

Rebecca Long-Bailey MP, Labour’s Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, speaking ahead of the Opposition Day Debate, said:

“MP’s are being approached by growing numbers of distressed people in their constituencies who appear to have been unfairly targeted by SYNNEX-Concentrix. In many cases Tax Credits have been completely stopped by the company who have a contract with the HMRC to supposedly “correct” tax credit claims.

“This has pushed many families over the breadline into very serious situations. The Government must act as a matter of urgency to ensure that those affected by this receive the financial support and justice they deserve.

“The Government also has a moral duty to commit to an official investigation into Concentrix’s conduct since it was granted the contract in 2014, so we can determine how this situation was allowed to arise.”