Families must pay back surplus credit

The Government is to press ahead with clawing back overpayments of tax credits to two million families, ignoring advice from the parliamentary ombudsman that they should be written off for poorer families. Paymaster General Dawn Primarolo has written to ombudsman Ann Abrahams indicating that she intends to try to get back £1.9bn in overpayments. Those who can prove they could not have 'reasonably' been expected to recognise an error will not be pressed for repayment.