Primarolo backs Revenue chief over tax credits
Paymaster general Dawn Primarolo has joined Inland Revenue chairman Sir Nick Montagu in blaming computer services giant, and Revenue IT partner, EDS, for the ongoing new tax credit problems.
She was answering a question laid down in the House of Commons by Conservative MP David Lidington. ‘(The system) has not been working as well as we expected and there has been unscheduled down time as a result,’ said Primarolo.
‘We have temporary measures in place, while we are making the system more robust, where people can go to their local Revenue enquiry centre and get a giro.’
The comments will be welcomed by Montagu, who has faced public grillings on several occasions over the past few weeks, and is a further sign that the Revenue is backed at government level.
Last month Accountancy Age revealed that the Revenue was considering levying fines on the company for its failure to deliver the systems it promised.
‘The systems it supplied did not deliver what they were expected to deliver and we are going to have to have some uncomfortable conversations,’ Montagu said at the time. ‘I don’t want to say “yes” (to imposing financial penalties on EDS), but it certainly is not out of the question.’
EDS refused to comment.