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Departmental Buildings
Mr. Welsh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list (a) the offices (i) owned and (ii) rented by his Department and its agencies in Scotland and (b) the number of staff (y) employed and (z) that can be accommodated (1) in total and (2) at each site. [114238]
Mr. Straw:
My Department and its agencies do not own any office space in Scotland. The rental of space and employment of staff by the Home Office in Scotland is as shown in the table. No estimate has been made of the number of staff that could be accommodated at these sites. This would depend on the nature of the work to be undertaken and would require a space planning exercise based on actual business requirements.
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| Address | Number of staff employed |
|---|---|
| Block 1, Northgate, 96 Milton Street, Glasgow | 407 |
| Tay House, 300 Bath Street, Glasgow | 330 |
| Glasgow Airport | 34 |
| 130 St. Vincent Street, Glasgow | 19 |
| Aberdeen Airport | 8.3 |
| Argyll House, Marketgait, Dundee | 7.5 |
| Edinburgh Airport | 7.5 |
| Blythswood House, 200 West Regent Street, Glasgow | 3 |
| Prestwick Airport | 0 |
| Franborough House, Bothwell Street, Glasgow | 0 |
| Total | 816.3 |
Young Offender Institutions
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many inmates of Feltham Young Offenders Unit and other young offenders' units in England have been assessed as mentally ill and are awaiting transfer to hospitals; [114511]
- (2) what is the average waiting time for transfer to hospitals of current inmates in young offender institutions in England who have been assessed as mentally ill; and what was the average for each of the last three years. [114512]
Mr. Boateng: On 31 January 2000, the latest date for which comprehensive statistics are available, four young men in establishments primarily for young offenders were reported to be awaiting transfer to hospital under sections 47 or 48 of the Mental Health Act 1983, three of whom were at Feltham. Information about average waiting times for transfer to hospital is not routinely collected centrally, though the Prison Service and the NHS are now monitoring cases where there is excessive delay.
Electronic Tagging
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) men and (b) women were electronically tagged in England and Wales on 1 March. [114504]
Mr. Boateng: 2,667 men and 254 women were electronically tagged in England and Wales as at 1 March. This includes 53 men and four women who were tagged on 1 March itself.
Kerb Crawlers
Mr. Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to make kerb crawling an arrestable criminal offence. [114564]
Mr. Charles Clarke: We intend to make kerb crawling an arrestable offence as soon as a suitable legislative opportunity arises.
Asylum Seekers
Mr. Cox:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will estimate how many children arrived in the United Kingdom in 1999 as members of an asylum seeking family. [114251]
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Mrs. Roche:
The information requested is not available. Information on principal applicants and dependants is published on an annual basis. It is planned that the figures for 1999 will be included within the next Asylum Bulletin which is due to be published in June of this year. It is not possible separately to identify dependent children without the examination of individual case records at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Gerrard:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers have applied for permission to work, having been in the UK for six months or more; and how many of these have been granted permission, in each of the last three years for which figures are available. [114565]
Mrs. Roche:
Statistics on the number of asylum seekers granted permission to work are not recorded centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Heald:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many special constables were recruited by each of the police forces in England and Wales between 30 September 1998 and 30 September 1999; [111474]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
Pursuant to the reply I gave the hon. Member on 28 February 2000, Official Report, column 117W, a figure for the Metropolitan police was not available for inclusion in the table setting out the number of special constables recruited by each police force in England and Wales between 1 October 1998 and 30 September 1999. The Metropolitan police have confirmed that they recruited 84 special constables during the relevant period.
(2) how many special constables left each of the police forces in England and Wales between 30 September 1998 and 30 September 1999. [111472]
Incomes
Mrs. Fyfe: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the lowest possible income for a family where one partner is working for 16 hours or more a week, with one or more dependent children under (a) 16 and (b) 19 years if in full-time education. [114487]
Dawn Primarolo [holding answer 14 March 2000]: The information requested is contained in the table:
| From October 1999 | From April 2000 | |
|---|---|---|
| One child aged under 11 | 144.15 | 147.00 |
| One child aged between 11 and 15 | 145.20 | 147.00 |
| One child aged 16 or over and still in full time education | 150.25 | 152.10 |
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Working Families Tax Credit
(Northern Ireland)
Mr. Pike: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families have benefited from the Working Families Tax Credit in Northern Ireland. [113225]
Dawn Primarolo: 24,433 awards of the Working Families Tax Credit were made in Northern Ireland up to the end of January 2000.
Working Families Tax Credit
Dr. Lynne Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the level of fraudulent claims as a result of the replacement of family credit with Working Families Tax Credit. [113297]
Dawn Primarolo: Reliable estimates are not yet available.
Dr. Lynne Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what measures he has taken to prevent fraudulent claims for working families tax credit. [113298]
Dawn Primarolo: The Tax Credits Act 1999, and the regulations made under that Act, provide the Inland Revenue with effective powers to make inquiries into applications. Where fraud is discovered, the Act provides for financial penalties to be charged, based on the amount fraudulently claimed. In the most serious cases, a criminal prosecution may be brought. The application form warns prospective applicants of the consequences of making a fraudulent claim.
The Inland Revenue use risk assessment procedures to target their inquiries on the applications most likely to be fraudulent, and where the largest amounts are at stake.
Mrs. Fyfe:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if the annual household income for the purposes of calculating working families tax credit includes child benefit to which the family is entitled. [114486]
Dawn Primarolo
[holding answer 14 March 2000]: No, child benefit is wholly disregarded in calculating entitlement to the working families tax credit.
Mrs. Fyfe:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if the £200 a week minimum income received by families on working families tax credit includes child benefit. [114485]
Dawn Primarolo
[holding answer 14 March 2000]: Yes, it includes child benefit and working families tax credit as well as earnings net of tax and National Insurance.
Mrs. Fyfe:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what guidance he will issue to the Inland Revenue to ensure that working families tax credit is (a) paid in full and on time and (b) takes account of the amount owed when an employee claiming working families tax credit leaves their job. [114481]
Dawn Primarolo
[holding answer 14 March 2000]: From April, when tax credits start to be paid by employers through the payroll, the Inland Revenue will continue to assess awards. They will tell employers exactly when they have to start paying tax credit, when to stop, and how much to pay per calendar day (the daily rate) in each pay period during which they are responsible for paying tax
15 Mar 2000 : Column: 183W
credit. The start notification sent to the employer includes a table showing 1-31 multiples of the daily rate to take account of different pay periods.
If an employee leaves his/her job before the end of the tax credit award, the employer will have to stop paying tax credit and issue the employee with a Certificate of Payments, showing the date up to which tax credit has been paid. The employee will send this to the Inland Revenue's Tax Credit Office, who will resume direct payments of tax credit to the employee.
Full guidance has been issued to both Inland Revenue staff and employers on these arrangements, which will ensure that employees receive the correct amount of tax credit throughout their 26-week award.
Mrs. Fyfe:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the additional amount per week that would be received by a family entitled to working families tax credit, for (a) one, (b) two and (c) three children, when the family's annual income is £10,400 and (i) there are no child care costs and (ii) the parental contribution to child care costs per week is (1) £10, (2) £20, (3) £30, (4) £40 and (5) £45. [114478]
Dawn Primarolo
[holding answer 14 March 2000]: For such families with £10,400 gross income, and for 1999-2000, the value of the Working Families Tax Credit exceeds that of Family Credit by following amounts per week:
| Total child care costs per week | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| None | £10 | £20 | £30 | £40 | £45 | |
| 1 child | 25.34 | 27.44 | 29.54 | 31.64 | 33.74 | 34.79 |
| 2 children | 30.04 | 32.14 | 34.24 | 36.34 | 38.44 | 39.49 |
| 3 children | 34.74 | 36.84 | 38.94 | 41.04 | 43.14 | 44.19 |
Note:
Figures based on a full-time worker with all children under 11 using eligible child care
Mrs. Fyfe: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if small businesses will be reimbursed promptly in respect of payments made by them as a result of handling working families tax credit; and if he will make a statement. [114479]
Dawn Primarolo [holding answer 14 March 2000]: Employers will be able to set tax credits paid to their employees against the PAYE income tax and National Insurance contributions and student loan deductions which they are due to pay to the Inland Revenue. Employers who think that they will have to pay out more in tax credits than they will deduct in PAYE income tax and National Insurance contributions and student loan deductions will be able to apply to the Inland Revenue for additional advance funding. They can apply up to six months in advance and do not have to wait until they have actually paid the tax credit.
Payment of WFTC through the pay packet is central to demonstrating the rewards of work and making work pay for families on low incomes. The Inland Revenue has been providing an extensive range of direct practical help and support for employers, including a dedicated telephone helpline for employers and a range of literature and face to face workshops which are particularly aimed at small businesses. Every employer received a copy of the Inland Revenue's "Employer's Guide To Tax Credits".
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