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Working Families Tax Credit

Mr. Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if any small business will be exempt from delivering the working families tax credit through the pay packet. [112757]

Dawn Primarolo [holding answer 2 March 2000]: Paying WFTC through the pay packet is central to demonstrating the rewards of work and making work pay for families on low incomes. From April employees awarded tax credits will generally receive them with their pay except where they have opted for the credit to be paid to their spouse or partner or where their employer does not operate a PAYE scheme or only operates a simplified PAYE scheme for domestic staff. The Inland Revenue is providing an extensive range of direct practical help and support for employers who will be paying tax credits through the pay packet.

Mr. Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the number of recipients of the Working Families Tax Credit who currently receive payment at a post office who will from April 2000 receive payment through the wage packet. [112791]

Dawn Primarolo [holding answer 3 March 2000]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Stafford (Mr. Kidney) on 9 February 2000, Official Report, column 214W.

Households (Full-time Workers)

Mr. Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list for each of the last 30 years the numbers of households headed by a full-time worker (a) with children and (b) without children. [112163]

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Miss Melanie Johnson [holding answer 2 March 2000]: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Director of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to reply.

Letter from John Pullinger to Mr. Frank Field, dated 6 March 2000:

The Director of the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has been asked to reply to your parliamentary question about the number of households headed by a full-time worker. I am replying in Dr Holt's absence.

In August 1998 the ONS introduced Labour Force Survey (LFS) databases especially designed for analyses of labour market data on households. Estimates form the LFS using these databases giving the number of households headed by a full-time employee or self-employed person with children and without children are given in the attached table. However, the household datasets are only available for 1990 and from 1992 onwards.

The analyses have been restricted to working-age households, which are defined as households including at least one person of working age, i.e. a man aged 16 to 64 and a woman aged 16 to 59.

Working-age (20) households (21) with a head of household in full-time work (22), by whether with dependent children (23) or not UK, spring quarters, 1990, and 1992 to 1999, not seasonally adjusted000s

Spring	Total	With dependent children (24)	Without dependent children (25)
1990	12,088	5,458	6,630
1992	11,804	5,140	6,664
1993	11,728	5,110	6,618
1994	11,855	5,108	6,747
1995	12,057	5,195	6,862
1996	11,817	5,143	6,674
1997	11,858	5,211	6,647
1998	12,058	5,247	6,811
1999	12,122	5,300	6,822

(20) Working age households are defined as those having at least one person of working age, i.e. men aged 16 to 64 and women aged 16 to 59.

(21) Figures have not been adjusted to take account of heads of households with unknown economic activity.

(22) Employees and self-employed only.

(23) Dependent children are those aged 0 to 15, or those aged 16 to 18 and in full-time education.

(24) Totals include households with dependent and non-dependent children.

(25) Totals include households with non-dependent children.

Source:

Labour Force Survey Household Datasets, ONS

IR35

Mr. Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many individuals he calculates will be affected by the introduction of IR35. [112990]

Dawn Primarolo [holding answer 3 March 2000]: This information is provided in the Regulatory Impact Assessment on the Welfare Reform and Pensions Bill published in October 1999.

Mortality Statistics

Mr. Hilary Benn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the average death rates allowing for age and sex standardisation for (a) all causes, (b) coronary

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heart disease, (c) stroke and (d) cancer for each ward in Leeds, Central parliamentary constituency and for the City of Leeds as a whole. [112551]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Director of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to reply.

Letter from John Pullinger to Mr. Hilary Benn, dated 6 March 2000:

The Director of the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has been asked to reply to your recent question on death rates in Leeds. I am replying in Dr. Holt's absence.

The attached table shows indirectly standardised mortality ratios (SMRs) for all causes of death, coronary heart disease, stroke and cancer, for each ward (as constituted at the time of the 1991 Census) that lies wholly in Leeds Central parliamentary constituency, in the years 1991-1993, based on populations from the 1991 Census. Comparable figures are also provided for Leeds metropolitan county district (based on 1991 boundaries).

We have provided indirectly standardised ratios rather than European standardised rates as the latter do not incorporate sex standardisation and are likely to be less accurate for small numbers of deaths by cause in each ward.

An SMR is defined as the ratio of the observed deaths in a given population over the expected deaths in that population if it experienced the age-specific death rates of a standard population (in this case the United Kingdom). The SMR for the UK is 100. Values greater than 100 indicate higher than average mortality and values lower than 100 indicate lower than average mortality.

Standardised Mortality Ratios (SMRs) by ward and cause of death (26), 1991-1993 Wards in Leeds Central Parliamentary Constituency, and Leeds MCDStandardised Mortality Ratio (SMR)

	Wardcode	All-causes	Coronary Heart Disease	Stroke	Cancer
	Wards in Leeds Central
Beeston	DAFD	94	105	65	100
City and Holbeck	DAFH	116	124	91	110
Hunslet	DAFQ	118	117	126	113
Richmond Hill	DAGB	110	126	69	119
University	DAGF	125	109	123	123
	Leeds metropolitan county
district		100	103	89	103

(26) Cause of death is based on the underlying cause, using the following codes from the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision

Coronary Heart Disease: 410-414

Stroke: 430-438

Cancer: 140-208

Emergency Vehicles (Fuel Tax)

Mr. Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will review the level of tax paid on fuel by the emergency services for running their vehicles. [113184]

Dawn Primarolo: There are no plans to review the level of tax paid on fuel by the emergency services for running their vehicles.

Departmental Secondment

Mr. Willis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff were seconded from the private sector to his Department in (a) May 1997 to April 1998, (b) May 1998 to April 1999 and (c) May 1999 to the latest date for which figures are available, stating in each case the companies from which staff have been seconded. [109291]

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Miss Melanie Johnson [holding answer 9 February 2000]: During the respective periods, the number of staff seconded from the private sector were as follows:

(a) 18

(b) 20

(c) 18.

Regional Economic Conference

Mr. Peter Atkinson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry over the staging of a regional economic conference for the North. [112921]

Miss Melanie Johnson [holding answer 3 March 2000]: The Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry discuss a wide range of issues on a regular basis.

Cashpoint Machines

Dr. Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what powers he has (a) to stop and (b) to regulate the application of charges for the use of ATM cash points in the LINK system. [113182]

Miss Melanie Johnson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 1 March 2000, Official Report, column 416W, to my hon. Friend the Member for Burnley (Mr. Pike).

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