---

Married Couples (Taxation)

17. Mr. Leigh: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on taxation of married couples. [125842]

Dawn Primarolo: My right hon. Friend the Chancellor has affirmed our commitment to the principle that the tax system should treat people as individuals, each entitled to their own personal allowance.

28. Mr. Bill O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received on the abolition of the married persons tax allowance; and if he will make a statement. [125854]

Dawn Primarolo: The Chancellor regularly receives representations on all aspects of the tax system.

We have introduced a package of reforms designed to make work pay better and focus resources on families with children. As part of the package, we have increased Child Benefit to record levels of £15 a week for the first child and £10 for subsequent children from April 2000, and it will rise further to £15.50 and £10.35 respectively from April 2001. We are increasing the Working Families Tax Credit by £4.35 a week from this month for children under 16. And in April 2001 we are introducing the Children's Tax Credit which will be worth up to £442, over twice as much as the old married couple's allowance which it replaces. By 2001, personal tax and benefit changes in this and previous Budgets will mean that 1.2 million children will be lifted out of poverty.

Landfill Tax

18. Mr. Luff: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with other Departments on the impact of the landfill tax on fly-tipping. [125843]

Mr. Timms: Treasury and Customs officials work closely together with those other departments that have policy interests on matters relating to waste disposal and

22 Jun 2000 : Column: 287W

landfill tax. All evidence suggests that the majority of fly-tipping is by householders, who are not directly affected by the tax.

Hypothecated Taxation (NHS)

19. Tony Wright: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he is undertaking studies on the role of hypothecated taxation as part of the Government's review of the NHS. [125844]

Mr. Andrew Smith: No such studies are being undertaken as part of the current review.

Corporation Tax

20. Mr. Derek Twigg: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the level of UK corporation tax in (a) the current financial year and (b) in 1997. [125845]

Dawn Primarolo: Corporation tax rates in the UK are at their lowest ever levels. The main rate of corporation tax for the current year is 30 per cent., and the small companies' rate is 20 per cent. Since 1997, the Government have cut these rates from 33 per cent. and 23 per cent. respectively. In addition, a new starting rate of 10 per cent. was introduced from April 2000.

Climate Change Levy

21. Mr. Brooke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent representations he has received from businesses on the climate change levy. [125846]

Mr. Timms: The Government have developed climate change levy in an open and consultative way. Firstly through the work of Lord Marshall's Task Force and then through the extensive consultation exercises which followed the announcement of the levy in Budget 99. More recently the Government have consulted on the draft legislation underpinning the levy, on the support for energy efficiency measures under the levy package, and on the definition of "good quality" Combined Heat and Power plant.

During this process, the Government have received many representations from business and other interested parties and these views have helped to refine the design of the levy.

Working Families Tax Credit

22. Mr. Russell Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the impact of the changes to the Working Families Tax Credit announced in the Budget. [125847]

Dawn Primarolo: The impact of the changes to the Working Families Tax Credit, and the increase of the national minimum wage from October 2000 to £3.70 per hour announced in the Budget, will guarantee a family with children, with someone working at least 35 hours a week, a minimum income of £208 a week from October 2000 and £214 from April 2001. These, together with other measures the Chancellor announced in Budget 2000, will lift 1.2 million of the children out of poverty this Parliament.

22 Jun 2000 : Column: 288W

32. Mr. Ernie Ross: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect on family incomes of the changes to the Working Families Tax Credit he announced in his Budget. [125858]

Dawn Primarolo: The introduction of the Working Families Tax Credit, together with other measures announced in the Budget, means that from October 2000 the minimum income guarantee for a family with children and someone working at least 35 hours a week will be £208 a week. This figure will rise to £214 a week from April 2001. These measures, together with the other measures the Chancellor announced in Budget 2000 will lift 1.2 million children out of poverty this Parliament.

Mr. St. Aubyn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the cost to public funds of the Working Families Tax Credit advertising campaign in (a) 1999-2000 and (b) 2000-01. [126179]

Dawn Primarolo [holding answer 19 June 2000]: The total cost of the Working Families Tax Credit advertising campaign in 1999-2000 was £13.8 million. To date, the cost for 2000-01 has been £2 million.

The freephone response line and the Tax Credits Office helpline have both performed extremely well and have now received over 3 million calls since September 1999.

Drugs Seizures

23. Mr. Dalyell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the value of drugs originating in South American countries seized by Customs and Excise in the last 12 months for which figures are available. [125848]

Dawn Primarolo: Customs do not have a comprehensive record of the origin of all drugs seized. Evidence shows cocaine is the drug most frequently seized from South America and that most of the cocaine seized by Customs is from there. In 1999, the estimated value at street price of Customs cocaine seizures amounted to over £250 million.

ECOFIN

24. Sir David Madel: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many meetings of ECOFIN there have been since 2 May 1997; and how many he has attended. [125849]

Miss Melanie Johnson: Since 12 May 1997, there have been 32 meetings of the Economic and Finance Council of Ministers, of which the Chancellor of the Exchequer has attended 26. On other occasions Treasury Ministers and officials have represented the Government.

Venture Capital

25. Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the increase in the availability of venture capital in the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2000. [125850]

Mr. Timms: According to statistics published by the British Venture Capital Association, the amount of venture capital invested in the United Kingdom increased from £3,066 million in 1997 to £6,169 million in 1999, the latest year for which data are available. The fastest growth sector was investment in management buy-outs

22 Jun 2000 : Column: 289W

and buy-ins, which now account for around three quarters of total venture investment in the UK. Start-up and other early stage investments grew strongly, but still account for only some 6 per cent. of total venture investment in the UK. The Government are concerned to improve the availability of small scale and early stage venture capital in the UK, as well as addressing access across the UK's regions and across technology sectors. To this end, the Department of Trade and Industry, through the Small Business Service and a new Small Business Investment Taskforce, is working to stimulate the creation of new public-private partnerships, within the framework of a new £1 billion target "umbrella" fund, to increase the supply of small scale venture capital. To better understand the factors affecting the UK institutions' decisions on investing in venture capital and other asset classes, the Chancellor has also commissioned Paul Myners, chairman of Gartmore investment managers, to conduct a review and report with recommendations in time for the Budget in 2001.

Savings Ratio

26. Mr. Collins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what projection he has made for the savings ratio in the next quarter. [125851]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The Treasury do not publish quarterly projections of the saving ratio. Estimates for 2000 Q1 will be published by the Office for National Statistics on 29 June.

Income Redistribution

27. Mr. Boswell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his policy is towards use of the tax system for the redistribution of income. [125852]

Dawn Primarolo: Budget 2000 builds on the success of the last three years. It supports work, families and enterprise and it cuts poverty, helps pensioners, and delivers substantial new resources for schools and hospitals. By 2001, personal tax and benefit changes mean that a single earner family with two children on £12,500 will be £2,600 a year better off. On £25,000, they will be £370 better off.

---