Author: Great Britain: National Audit OfficePublisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780102976700
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 44
Book Description
It is clear that means testing will be used extensively for the foreseeable future as it helps target state support at the people that need it most, but it can have many other important consequences. For example, there can be disincentives for recipients of means-tested benefits to return to work. Means testing also makes the administration of benefits more complex and is associated with higher costs as well as increased rates of fraud and error. In light of proposed and ongoing reforms to benefits and related programmes, the NAO notes the importance of departments sharing good practice and learning from past experiences in the design of means tests. For example, HM Revenue and Customs has struggled in the past with unexpectedly large overpayments of tax credits (£9 billion between 2003-04 and 2009-10) because of the way that payments are determined under the legislation. Departments need to consider all of the impacts of means testing: for example, the burden on claimants, such as difficulty with completing forms and the cost of requesting advice. Issues associated with means testing, such as incorrect declarations of earnings and errors by officials in calculating entitlements, accounted for over half of all fraud and error in benefits and tax credits. There is a lack of coordination of, and overall accountability for, means testing across government. For example, no one body has responsibility for looking at how the impact of university fees will be influenced by wider means testing.
