Concerns over tax credit fraud

Catherine Gaunt
Wednesday, August 13, 2003

Scottish nursery owners have warned that changes to the application process brought in when the new Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit were introduced in April have left the system wide open to abuse and that tax credit fraud may now be on the increase. In a change from the old system, nurseries have no way of knowing whether parents are claiming the childcare element of the tax credit, because the claim form no longer requires the nursery to confirm that the child is attending sessions. The onus is now solely on parents to complete the nursery's details on the form, including the name of the approved childcare provider, the registration number and registering body.