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Working Families Tax Credit
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost will be of the working families tax credit in its first year. [70277]
Dawn Primarolo: The total cost of the Working Families Tax Credit in 2000-01, the first full year of the credit, is estimated to be about £4.3 billion.
Legal Services
Mr. Ruffley:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list (a) the London barristers' chambers and (b) the London solicitors' firms that have performed services for his Department (i) since 1 May 1997 and (ii) in the equivalent period preceding that date, indicating the remuneration paid in each particular case. [70038]
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Ms Hewitt
[holding answer 8 February 1999]: The detailed information requested either is the subject of confidentiality or could not be provided expect at unreasonable cost (or both).
My right hon. and learned Friend the Attorney-General appointed Philip Sales as First Junior Treasury Counsel (Common Law) and Jonathan Crow as First Junior Treasury Counsel (Chancery) to advise and represent the government in their important civil cases. In addition, the Attorney-General maintains at present two London panels of Junior Counsel whom departments are expected to use for the rest of the government's civil litigation. The panels currently comprise 103 barristers from 42 different sets of chambers. The Attorney-General will shortly appoint a third panel of very junior barristers. The Attorney-General's individual nomination is required
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before a barrister who is not on one of the approved panels can be instructed to appear for the government in litigation.
Departments may use firms of solicitors in addition to the Treasury Solicitor and their departmental legal advisers, for example, where the relevant expertise lies in the private sector. The relationship is subject to the usual confidentiality which operates between lawyer and client.
Mr. Maclean:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which euro notes (a) have been and (b) are planned to be printed in the UK. [70604]
Ms Hewitt:
As part of the Bank of England's involvement in various aspects of Euro preparatory work, they are participating in a pre-production trial for Euro notes. The printing trials of the Euro 5 and 20 are complete and the printing trial for the 50 is under way. There are no other Euro notes planned for trialing in the UK. Notes printed as part of the trial are for analytical and comparative purposes only and will not be issued.
Mr. Mitchell:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has made to the European Bank and to the Euro X committee about the exchange rate of the euro. [70616]
Mr. Kemp:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the number of people who will benefit financially in the first year from the introduction of a national minimum wage within (a) the Northern Region and (b) the city of Sunderland. [70370]
Ms Hewitt:
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Director of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Tim Holt to Mr. Fraser Kemp, dated 15 February 1999:
Mr. Malcolm Bruce:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the additional full-year yield to the Exchequer which will result from the abolition of the system of duty-free goods; and if he will make a statement. [70441]
Dawn Primarolo
[holding answer 11 February 1999]: It is not possible to predict with any degree of certainty the additional revenue which will result from the abolition of duty-free sales within Europe. Estimates are sensitive
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to a whole range of assumptions about the nature of the successor regime and the post-abolition marketing strategies of the duty-free operators. There is insufficient certainty on either of these points to make meaningful predictions at this stage.
Mr. Nigel Jones:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what were the proceeds to the Treasury, exclusive of VAT, of (a) each penny of beer duty and (b) total beer duty for each of the last 10 years for which figures are available. [70904]
As Director of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your recent parliamentary question on the introduction of the national minimum wage.
The precise information you requested is unavailable. However, estimates of the proportion of people who are currently earning below the minimum wage for (a) the North East Region and (b) the Sunderland Local Authority District are available. These have been placed in the House of Commons Library under the title of "New Earnings Survey (NES) 1998--National Minimum Wage Distribution Tables".
| Year | Proceeds per penny (66) | Duty receipts |
|---|---|---|
| 1989 | 108 | 2,105 |
| 1990 | 109 | 2,226 |
| 1991 | 104 | 2,282 |
| 1992 | 103 | 2,376 |
| 1993 | 102 | (67)2,230 |
| 1994 | 105 | 2,500 |
| 1995 | 106 | 2,646 |
| 1996 | 104 | 2,606 |
| 1997 | 107 | 2,682 |
| 1998 | 104 | 2,698 |
(66) The figures for proceeds of a penny per pint have been calculated assuming average strengths.
(67) The system for charging beer duty changed in June 1993. This led to a reduction in receipts of approximately £200 million.
VAT
Mr. Todd: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what evidence he has obtained of non-charging of VAT by businesses whose potential VAT receipts are of a scale which would oblige VAT registration. [70788]
Dawn Primarolo: First, I must make it clear that only those traders whose taxable turnover exceeds £50,000 are required to register for VAT.
The Government are very concerned about those traders who under-declare their true takings to avoid paying VAT or to avoid VAT registrations. Additional staff are being devoted to this work to counter fraud, avoidance and non-compliance. Within the UK there are now 135 outfield staff deployed regionally in Shadow Economy Teams whose prime function is to tackle traders fraudulently avoiding paying VAT, including failing to register for VAT. An additional objective of this activity is to provide a level playing field for the legitimate trade. The teams also liaise with and work closely with other Government Departments.
This year these teams have identified 2,590 1 unregistered traders who should have been registered and an additional £17.1 million 1 revenue.
Mr. Lansley:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many 18 to 24-year-olds were registered as unemployed and claiming benefit in the Cambridge travel-to-work area in (i) April 1997, (ii) April 1998 and (iii) October 1998. [70424]
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Ms Hewitt
[holding answer 11 February 1999]: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Director of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Tim Holt to Mr. Andrew Lansley, dated 15 February 1999:
Ms Rosie Winterton:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate for each of the last five years how many people were self-employed, broken down by (a) occupation and (b) region. [70432]
Ms Hewitt
[holding answer 11 February 1999]: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Director of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to reply.
1 To 30 November 1998: latest figures available for 1998-99.
As Director of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your recent parliamentary question on those registered unemployed and claiming benefits in the Cambridge travel-to-work area (TTWA).
The information you have requested is derived from the monthly claimant count of people claiming unemployment-related benefits (i.e. Jobseeker's Allowance or National Insurance credits). Essentially, all people who were claiming these benefits on the count day are counted.
The data you have requested for those age 18-24 in the Cambridge TTWA is given below and are not adjusted to take account of seasonal factors.
Cambridge TTWA: Claimant count age 18-24 year olds:
April 1997: 1,018
April 1998: 818
October: 1998: 786.
(68) Includes people who did not state their occupation
Source:
Labour Force Survey, Office for National Statistics
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