Some families are still waiting

More than a million families have missed the deadline to claim their full child tax credit, according to opposition ministers.

Those eligible for the new tax credit have until Monday 7 July to submit their forms or they will miss out on the full year's entitlement.

Steve Webb, the Liberal Democrat MP, said figures suggest a million families will miss the midnight deadline, leaving the Treasury with fuller coffers than planned.

"We now have a situation where the Treasury is sitting on over half a billion pounds which actually belongs to one million families," said Mr Webb.

But the Treasury dismissed the figures, saying the number of people who had not yet applied and those whose forms were already in the system accounted for about half a million outstanding claims.

Too complex?

Mr Webb's views were echoed by the Conservatives who said about 10% of all families with children have not made a claim, due to the complexity of the system.