§ Lord AVEBURYasked Her Majesty's Government:
What were the official results of the investigation of the Inland Revenue into 1,000 taxpayers' claims for personal relief in respect of children living in the Indian subcontinent reported to the Public Accounts Committee and published in the Third Report of the Session 1967–68; and whether they will state in how many of the 332 cases in which allowances had been withdrawn or were being subjected to active investigations the allowances were subsequently restored, and in how many of those cases the taxpayers were prosecuted.
1164WA
§ Baroness BIRKThe number of taxpayers finally selected for investigation within the Survey was 958, but 99 lost touch with the Revenue mostly because they returned abroad. Of the remaining 859, 383 claims were accepted; this includes cases where the relevant documents could not be properly checked because of lack of co-operation by some issuing authorities. In 376 cases the allowances were withdrawn. The remaining 100 appeared to be unsatisfactory, but were still under inquiry, some in local offices, when separate statistical records of cases within the Survey were discontinued at the end of March 1968. The final outcome of these has not been centrally recorded. It is not possible to state whether any of the 332 cases, which, at the time evidence was given to the Public Accounts Committee, had had the allowances withdrawn or were under active investigation, were subsequently considered to be genuine, but the proportion is thought to be very small. Of those within the survey, 11 had been prosecuted at the end of March 1968 and 58 dealt with under the arrangements for amnesty. Separate figures are not available for subsequent prosecutions.
§ Lord AVEBURYasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether any further investigations have been conducted since the Session 1967–68 on the same lines as the Inland Revenue's investigation of 1,000 taxpayers' claims for personal relief in respect of children living in the Indian subcontinent reported to the Public Accounts Committee in that year; and, if so, with what results.
§ Baroness BIRKNo further exercise of this kind has been undertaken. Since 1968, in the case of new claimants, a new system of more critical examination has been applied to claims involving children resident in the Indian subcontinent.