"Man jailed over 36 children claim"

This is a fine example of how pathetic and useless HM Revenue & Customs are administering Tax Credits.

Remember that HM Revenue & Customs are also responsible* for dishing out Child Benefit. I'm no expert, but why don't they ... er ... ask people for the Child Benefit reference number on a Tax Credit claim form?

Or, bearing in mind that the level of fraud with Child Benefit is minuscule**, why don't they get rid of the child-element of Tax Credits and just increase Child Benefit? About £30 per child per week is roughly fiscally neutral.

And to prevent 'baby farming', perhaps restrict Child Benefit to the first three children per family? Remembering always that the largest part of the cost of having children is the loss/reduction in the mother's wages. That loss is the same whether the mother is at home with one child or with ten.

* They took over from the Benefits Agency about five years ago.

** Per the ONS, "For England and Wales as a whole, the Census figure [for the number of children] is 0.9% higher than the number of children claiming child benefit."