Do any Welfare Rights Teams out there attend liaison meetings with HM Revenue & Customs about Tax Credits?

It'd be useful to get some sort of dialogue going with them to improve the standard of service they provide - i've just asked for a WTC5 (guidance about Tax Credits and Childcare costs) to be sent to a client and they refused to send it. Had the client phoned they'd have sent the leaflet out, but instead (apparently) the Data Protection Act doesn't allow them to send leaflets to anyone other than the caller, and nowhere other than their home address.

there is a 'Tax Credits Consultation Group' .. more info @

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/taxcredits/meetings.htm

Thanks for that Shawn.

I notice that there was a meeting held during January so i'll keep an eye out for minutes and the date of the next meeting. There was talk in those minutes of local liaison taking place. I'm not sure it'll happen, but i've written to HMRC to request that meetings start.

Surely, they're making it up as they go along. My understanding is that the Data Protection Act is only concerned with the control of and subject access to, personal data, which is processed, and part of retrieval or filing system, or part of an accessible public record and for which the data controller can charge a fee.

So when does the guidance become personal data and since when is it permissible to have the power to charge a fee for such material.

And not even by the wildest stretch of the imagination could it be said that the scribbling down of a punter’s name and address by an IR worker is part of a retrieval or filing system and definitely not part of an accessible public record (this has a very restricted definition).

And even if the Data Protection Act could be interpreted in this way this is surely not what Parliament intended in passing the Act.

I've learnt not to look for common sense. I actually gave them my NINo in the hope they'd send me a copy of the leaflet, but they still refused to send it to me here at the office.

In the end, I phoned the HMRC at St Austell...they're happy to send me 100 and they'll be here in a week or two!