Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many cheques sent to HM Revenue and Customs from members of the public remained uncashed for (a) four, (b) eight and (c) 12 weeks in the most recent year for which figures are available.

HM Revenue and Customs contracts the supplier BancTec to process cheques received from customers. Cheques are passed to BancTec on the day they are received, 99% of the cheques received are banked on the day of receipt. Over the last 12 months there was only one occasion when the cheques were not banked on the day of receipt. In one percent of cases further information is required, usually from the customer, to enable the cheque to be processed. Generally, all cases that require investigation are resolved within four working days.