Peter
Dowd MP, Labour’s Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, commenting on the Public Accounts Committee report into Concentrix, said:

“The
findings by the Public Accounts Committee reaffirms the Government’s continued
inability to take responsibility for the shambolic decision to contract out tax
credits to Concentrix. It is now crystal clear that Concentrix should never
have been awarded the contact.

“This
damning report reveals what many of us have long suspected, first that neither
HMRC nor Concentrix bothered to check for error or fraud before suspending tax
credits to some of the most vulnerable in our society.

“
Secondly, that Concentrix’s claims of mass savings were inflated from the start;
they have barely recouped one fifth of their initial savings figure. Third, that
HMRC is woefully ill-equipped to outsource such important decisions to the
private sector, instead of penalising Concentrix for mistakes HMRC tripled its
commission. 

“This
whole saga makes a mockery of the current tendering process. Given these
damning findings, Concentrix should be banned from any future Government
contracts and the Government should seek to recoup the majority of its
commission.”

Peter
Dowd MP, Labour’s Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, commenting on the Public Accounts Committee report into Concentrix, said:

“The
findings by the Public Accounts Committee reaffirms the Government’s continued
inability to take responsibility for the shambolic decision to contract out tax
credits to Concentrix. It is now crystal clear that Concentrix should never
have been awarded the contact.

“This
damning report reveals what many of us have long suspected, first that neither
HMRC nor Concentrix bothered to check for error or fraud before suspending tax
credits to some of the most vulnerable in our society.

“
Secondly, that Concentrix’s claims of mass savings were inflated from the start;
they have barely recouped one fifth of their initial savings figure. Third, that
HMRC is woefully ill-equipped to outsource such important decisions to the
private sector, instead of penalising Concentrix for mistakes HMRC tripled its
commission. 

“This
whole saga makes a mockery of the current tendering process. Given these
damning findings, Concentrix should be banned from any future Government
contracts and the Government should seek to recoup the majority of its
commission.”

Paul Blomfield MP,
Labour’s Shadow Minister for Exiting the European Union, commenting on the 6 percent fall
in applications from non-UK European Union students, said:

“These latest UCAS
figures show yet another drop in applications from non-UK EU students to our
universities.

“The Government’s failure
to provide certainty to non-UK European citizens living, working and studying
here is harming our world-class universities.

“The Government urgently
needs to provide answers on how it will keep the UK as an attractive university
destination for EU students, as we leave the EU.

“Thousands of jobs depend
on it, as well as the diversity of our campuses and cities.

“One of Labour’s six
tests for the final Brexit deal is a strong and collaborative future
relationship with the EU. Strengthening our education exports is a vital part
of this.”

Paul Blomfield MP,
Labour’s Shadow Minister for Exiting the European Union, commenting on the 6 percent fall
in applications from non-UK European Union students, said:

“These latest UCAS
figures show yet another drop in applications from non-UK EU students to our
universities.

“The Government’s failure
to provide certainty to non-UK European citizens living, working and studying
here is harming our world-class universities.

“The Government urgently
needs to provide answers on how it will keep the UK as an attractive university
destination for EU students, as we leave the EU.

“Thousands of jobs depend
on it, as well as the diversity of our campuses and cities.

“One of Labour’s six
tests for the final Brexit deal is a strong and collaborative future
relationship with the EU. Strengthening our education exports is a vital part
of this.”

Debbie
Abrahams MP, Labour’s Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, commenting on the
Joseph Rowntree Foundation report, which shows the Tory Government’s two child benefit
limit could push 200,000 children into poverty, said:

“Labour
is calling on the Tories to scrap this inhumane policy, which will have a
devastating impact upon many families on the lowest incomes in our society.

“An
arbitrary cap on the number of children that the Government will help families
to bring up is not only cruel, but is bad policy. This evidence shows that it
will increase child poverty.

“As
90 per cent of lone parents are female it is a further example of how these six
years of wasted austerity have been borne on the backs of low income mothers.

“That’s
why Labour will stand up for low income families, including providing free
school meals to all primary school children.”