---

Green Transport

Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list the key buildings for which his Department (a) submitted and (b) did not submit green transport plans by March. [122620]

Mr. Wills [holding answer 18 May 2000]: By the end of March 2000, Effective Travel Plans had been submitted for all the Department's main buildings.

Learning and Skills Council

Mr. Pound: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on his plans for the location of the local arm of the Learning and Skills Council in West London. [123402]

Mr. Wicks: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has decided that the local arm of the West London Learning and Skills Council (LSC) should initially be located in Hounslow. In taking this decision he has taken into account the suitability and availability of premises in other West London locations as well as the need to get best value for money. My noble Friend the Minister of State has written to the hon. Members whose constituencies are in West London, and copies of the letter have been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Middlefield Primary School

Mr. Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what weaknesses were found by the Ofsted inspection agency in the Ofsted inspection carried out at Middlefield primary school; and if a teacher was criticised during the inspection in front of pupils. [122936]

Ms Estelle Morris: These are matters for Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools, Chris Woodhead, and I am satisfied that they have been fully investigated by Ofsted. I have asked the Chief Inspector to write to my hon. Friend and to place a copy of his letter in the Library.

Holocaust Education Day

Mr. Gareth R. Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what action he is taking to encourage schools and local education authorities to participate in the Holocaust Education Day in January 2001. [122835]

Jacqui Smith: We are contributing fully to the Government's general programme of support for Holocaust Memorial Day, on 27 January. We are working with a range of organisations involved in holocaust education to develop educational materials for schools, youth and community groups and local education authorities. In June this year we will issue a resource pack for schools which will show how holocaust education can

19 May 2000 : Column: 296W

be built into the programmes of study for History at Key Stage 3 and identify connections with other areas of the curriculum, including Citizenship. We will also encourage schools to hold special events, for example, special school assemblies, poetry readings, workshops and seminars.

TREASURY

Poverty (Children)

Mr. Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his speech to the Child Poverty Action Group on 15 May, if he will disaggregate the £7 billion additional spending in 2001 relative to 1997 on children's financial support. [122983]

Dawn Primarolo: I refer my right hon. Friend to Chart 5.2 in the March 2000 Economic and Fiscal Strategy Report, HC 346.

Mr. Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what basis he made the statement that many poorer families are now £50 per week better off in his recent speech to the Child Poverty Action Group. [122836]

Dawn Primarolo: I refer my right hon. Friend to paragraph 1.31 of the EFSR which stated that "By 2001, when personal tax and benefit changes measures from this and previous Budgets have come into effect--a single-earner family with two children earning £12,500 a year will be £2,600 a year or £50 a week better off".

Mr. Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will set out the measurement he used to determine which children live in poverty when he described Government policies as having taken more than one million children out of poverty in his speech to the Child Poverty Action Group on 15 May. [122981]

Dawn Primarolo: The estimate that 1.2 million children will be lifted out of poverty is based upon the number of children in low-income families who will no longer be living in households below 60 per cent. of median income after the combined effect of the personal tax and benefit changes announced in the four Budgets since May 1997. The calculation includes those households classified as self-employed and measures income after allowing for housing costs, as explained in Box 5.1 of the March 2000 Economic and Fiscal Strategy Report, HC 346. Consistent with the indicators chosen in "Opportunity for all", Box 5.1 also presents estimates of the number of children lifted above a number of low-income thresholds.

Mr. Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will set out the basis of the calculation made in his speech to the Child Poverty Action Group on 15 May that the poorest 20 per cent. of families receive 50 per cent. of the additional £7 billion per year spent on children's financial support. [122982]

Dawn Primarolo: This calculation is based on analysis of the distributional impact of the main children's measures announced by the Government. The analysis is consistent with the chart in Box 5.1 of the EFSR. The measures included are the introduction of and increases in the Working Families Tax Credit, increases in Child Benefit and the child premia in income-related benefits, and the new Children's Tax Credit. The estimates are

19 May 2000 : Column: 297W

based on data from the Family Expenditure Surveys from 1996-98 uprated to estimated 2000-01 levels of prices and earnings.

VAT (Disability)

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what plans he has to review the composite rate of VAT on equipment supplied to the visually impaired; [122937]

(2) when he expects to report on the review of VAT in relation to disability equipment; [R] [122931]

(3) what regional variations exist in the application of VAT to disability equipment. [122938]

Dawn Primarolo: Customs and Excise have looked at the application of the composite rate of VAT on equipment supplied to the visually impaired, but there are no plans to change this concession. There has been no broader review of VAT relief on disability equipment.

Customs are unaware of regional variations in the application of VAT to disability equipment, but would be glad to look into this if cases are drawn to their attention.

Working Families Tax Credit

Ms Kelly: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what was the (a) total and (b) forecast level of expenditure on the Working Families Tax Credit; how many families have claimed the Working Families Tax Credit; and what estimate he has made of the projected number of claimants on a year by year basis; [122601]

(2) what is the (a) forecast cost of introducing the childcare tax credit and (b) number of projected claimants of the credit; [122613]

Dawn Primarolo [holding answers 18 May 2000]: The total expenditure on Working Families Tax Credit (WFTC) and the Disabled Persons Tax Credit (DPTC) in 1999-2000, and the Budget projections of expenditure on these credits for 2000-01 and 2001-02, are shown at Table C12 of the March 2000 Financial Statement and Budget Report. Most of this relates to WFTC. Up to the end of March 2000 there had been 1,030,200 awards made of the WFTC.

It is estimated that the extra expenditure in 2000-01 due to the childcare tax credit element of WFTC will be about £200 million, and that about 125,000 families will benefit. Projected figures for other years are not available.

Alcohol and Tobacco Duties

Mr. Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate (a) the retail value of goods purchased and (b) the tax, broken down between excise duty and VAT, lost through (i) cross-border shipping and (ii) cross-border smuggling of (1) alcohol products and (2) tobacco products for each year since 1996. [119217]

Dawn Primarolo [holding answer 14 April 2000]: The tables show the revenue lost through cross-border shopping and cross-Channel smuggling, and the estimated retail value of equivalent goods bought through legitimate UK retail outlets. Cross-border shopping estimates for 1999 are not yet available.

19 May 2000 : Column: 298W

Table 1: Cross-border shopping£ million (9)

	1996	1997	1998
Alcohol
Excise	130	170	200
VAT	55	75	90
Total Tax	190	245	290
Retail Value	375	505	585
Tobacco
Excise	35	50	70
VAT	10	10	15
Total Tax	45	60	85
Retail Value	60	80	115

Table 2: Cross-channel smuggling (10)£ million (9)

	1996	1997	1998	1999
Alcohol
Excise	140	120	155	140
VAT	60	60	75	70
Total Tax	200	180	230	215
Retail Value	395	395	505	485
Tobacco
Excise	540	625	750	840
VAT	140	155	185	215
Total Tax	680	780	935	1,055
Retail Value	925	1,040	1,410	1,440

(9) Components are rounded to the nearest £5 million and therefore may not sum to the totals shown.

(10) The figures exclude any amounts for alcoholic drink and tobacco products smuggled in freight consignments. Customs' assessment of the overall revenue lost from all forms of tobacco smuggling, including that in freight, is £2.5 billion in 1999. No comparable assessment of the overall revenue lost from all forms of alcohol smuggling is available.

---