§ Mr. LazarowiczTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to ensure a reduction in the number of errors made by the Inland Revenue when amending self-assessment tax returns. [6653]
§ Dawn PrimaroloThe Inland Revenue has a quality monitoring system under which it carries out an annual review of the processing work, which includes amendments to self-assessment tax returns. Action is taken to determine the cause of errors and to identify corrective measures.
In addition, since March 2000, the Revenue has operated a programme of quality assurance and quality control for the processing of tax returns and other key operating processes. This is part of a national quality programme for quality improvement.
Staff involved in SA processing work are subject to individual checks of work done to determine the cause of any errors and to ensure prompt remedial action is taken.
The results of the quality monitoring exercise for 1999–2000 returns showed a significant improvement on the results for the previous year. A further improvement is being sought for 2000–01 returns.