Portsmouth Meeting Sparks Demand for Justice in the Tax Credit System. 22 March 2008
Following the Tax Credit Casualties’ first ever public regional meeting in Rotherham earlier this month, it was the South’s turn to discuss ‘Cleaning Up the Tax Credit system’ with its own regional meeting, hailed by National Coordinator and Portsmouth local Alison Myers-Ward as another great success. On a wet, freezing-cold day, 50 plus people turned out and filled the room to capacity. An indictment of the scale of the problem is that most commented that they felt the need to turn up early because the meeting was sure to be packed.
The picture below shows just some of the attendees, with Alison Myers-Ward (third from left), Paula Dean (fourth from left) and Darren Sanders (fifth from left). Let's all hope that the charming young lady, holding the banner, doesn't have her own Tax Credit overpayment bill in a few years time!
Even technical problems, (an all too familiar hazard to tax credit claimants!), with the visual display did not prevent TCC from delivering a comprehensive explanation of how overpayments had become so prolific, debunking the myth of dishonest, incompetent claimants bringing debt upon themselves. TCC revealed the source of these problems – an over-complex, ill-conceived system, horrendously mismanaged; with an inability of the Government to accept responsibility for its own 'Frankenstein' creation.
Two local cases added poignancy to the meeting, with one local family receiving a demand for a staggering £26,000 without warning or explanation. Participants were stunned as Kim, from Southampton, gave an emotive account of how false demands for £20,000, which she did not cause and could not possibly have known about, had pushed her beyond endurance, needlessly decimating her life before the amount was finally written off, last week, with barely an apology.
Local political representatives Penny Mordaunt (Conservative) and Darren Sanders (Liberal Democrats) willingly gave up their time to support the Tax Credit Casualties and delivered lively and impassioned inputs. Despite being rival candidates for the Portsmouth North seat, they agreed a cross-party solution was essential, and were highly critical of how overpaid claimants were treated by a bullying and buck-passing Treasury.
Penny Mordaunt revealed that the Conservatives intended writing off non-fraudulent overpayments. Penny described how she is already working with the TCC on a compilation of victims’ stories, and pledged support from party colleagues who are Members of Parliament.
Darren Sanders, speaking on behalf of Portsmouth North MP Mike Hancock, likened HMRC’s punitive, bullying and aggressive approach, coupled with it's appalling blunders, to the reviled CSA - and offered Mike Hancock’s support in booking a room at Westminster so that MPs and the national media could hear the TCC’s calls for justice.
Sarah McCarthy-Fry MP declined to attend, instead issuing a two-page statement in support of the current system and rejecting an Amnesty for non-fraudulent overpayments.
Finally, questions were taken from the ‘floor’- the formal part of the meeting gave way to one-to-one discussions and a chance to chat with attendees. Despite there being no representatives from either HMRC or Citizens Advice (who were both invited), the meeting generated much discussion and support for both tax credit victims and TCC.
Alison Myers-Ward said, ‘We have had so many offers of support and collective action that justice can surely no longer be denied us. Taking our campaign to the heart of Westminster, opening up honest debate, and allowing the media to see the full extent of the human misery caused can only advance our cause. For too long power has been misapplied, and victims blamed. Collectively we will be heard!’