Government has allowed the tax credit system to become such a shambles.

It is scandalous that the Government has allowed the tax credit system to become such a shambles.

It was launched with good intentions - to raise the income of the lower-paid and help them enjoy a decent standard of living.

But the scheme has been dogged by administrative blunders. Latest figures show that 16,000 Oxfordshire families were overpaid by £13.1m, (£13,100,000.00), - an average of £825 each.

Meanwhile, 7,400 families in the county have been underpaid.

...

The Government says that overpayments will be written off where its staff have made the mistake and the claimant could not have spotted the error.

But that still leaves thousands of families in suspense, worried that they might have to cut their spending to pay back the money.