§ Mr. WebbTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer of 27 November,Official Report, column 315W, on CR74, why (a) 3.5 million national insurance records were no longer needed, and (b) 1.3 million records required further checking; and how long the 3.5 million national insurance records that were no longer needed were in circulation after the date on which they should have been withdrawn. [86706]
§ Dawn PrimaroloThe Inland Revenue keeps more than one record for a customer when the circumstances warrant it, but processes are in place to check and keep records updated as part of normal customer service.732W National insurance records were not affected by CR74. The exercise simply brought together the information on separate tax records relating to individual taxpayers and created a single tax record for them. As a result, a total of 3.5 million records were no longer needed. 1.3 million records require further checking to confirm that the correct National Insurance Number is being used. It is not possible, except at disproportionate cost, to find out how long records existed before being brought together as part of CR74.