Research: Digital Child Benefit Customer Survey

Those responsible for bringing up a child who is either under 16 or under 20 if they stay in approved education or training are eligible to claim Child Benefit. Child Benefit is designed to help with the extra costs of bringing up a child.

The current claims process is paper based, requiring a completed Child Benefit claim form to be sent to the Child Benefit Office with the birth certificate of the child. Once registered, subsequent changes to family circumstances can be reported online via the Government Gateway.

HMRC have explored the possibility of making the Child Benefit claim and management process digital to alleviate this burden on families.

HMRC commissioned IFF Research to provide insights into current attitudes to digitisation among the Child Benefit population. Furthermore, this research aimed to develop a clearer understanding of a digital Child Benefit service to inform information and communications.

The research used a quantitative approach consisting of a telephone survey with 1,443 Child Benefit claimants. The fieldwork took place between May 2022 and June 2022.

The views in this report are the authors’ own and do not necessarily reflect those of HM Revenue and Customs.