Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment his Department has made of the fairness of the high income child benefit charge.

The Government is committed to managing the public finances responsibly. The High-Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) ensures that the Government supports the majority of families while keeping welfare expenditure sustainable.

The charge is calculated on an individual rather than household basis in line with other tax policy. If the HICBC was based on household income, this could mean finding out the incomes and relationships of individuals in all the households currently registered for Child Benefit. This would put disproportionate burdens on most Child Benefit claimants, who are not affected by HICBC and currently do not need to provide this information to HM Revenue and Customs. The Government therefore considers that the current approach remains proportionate.