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Tax Demands

Mr. Alasdair Morgan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many income tax demands for amounts under £5 were dispatched in the last tax year; what the total value of the tax billed in these demands was; and what the estimated cost of recovering the tax was. [127649]

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Dawn Primarolo: Taxpayers within Self Assessment are issued with statements at specific points in their tax affairs showing the current position, which may include small amounts. Information on how many such debts there are at any given time is not available.

Pensioners (Self-assessment)

Mr. Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to simplify tax self-assessment for pensioners; and what advice and support the Inland Revenue provides for the completion of such forms. [127878]

Dawn Primarolo: The Government want to minimise the number of people who have to complete self- assessment tax returns. That is why last July I announced changes to the criteria determining who should receive self-assessment tax returns which meant that up to 200,000 older people should no longer have to complete returns. The Inland Revenue are considering whether there are other changes which can be made.

For those pensioners who have to complete a tax return the Revenue is committed to giving the help they need. The Inland Revenue will help pensioners complete any forms if they cannot complete them themselves. They will visit the pensioner in his or her home if a face-to-face discussion is necessary and the pensioner is too infirm to get to the local tax office. Most Inland Revenue offices are equipped with magnifying lenses and induction loops--and all will be within the next few months. For those who prefer to contact the Revenue by telephone, they can contact their own tax office or use the helpline on 0845 9000 444. Research shows that the Revenue's help is valued as pensioners are the Inland Revenue's most satisfied customer group.

Tax Credits

Mr. Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many claimants of Family Credit there were in (a) the North-East region, (b) the City of Newcastle and (c) the constituency of Newcastle upon Tyne, Central in April 1997; what was the average payment of Family Credit in each area; how many claimants of the Working Families Tax Credit there are for (a), (b) and (c); and what has been the average payment of Working Families Tax Credit (i) with and (ii) without child care tax credit. [127880]

Dawn Primarolo: The estimated numbers of families in receipt of awards are as follows:

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	Estimate of number of recipients of Family Credit (FC) at the end of April 1997	Provisional estimate of number of recipients of Working Families Tax Credit (WFTC) at the end of April 2000
North-East region	45,900	61,000
Newcastle upon Tyne local authority	4,300	5,200
Newcastle upon Tyne, Central constituency	1,100	1,300

Note:

All the estimates in the table are based on 5 per cent. samples of awards and are therefore subject to sampling error. This should be borne in mind when making comparisons over time, by area, and between types of award.

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For the North-East region, the average FC award at April 1997 was £58 per week, and the provisional estimate of the average WFTC award at April 2000 is £71 per week. The corresponding figures for WFTC awards with and without

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the child care tax credit are £88 per week and £70 per week, respectively. There are too few sample cases to provide reliable estimates of average awards at the local authority or constituency level.

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IR35

Mr. Ottaway: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer of the IR35 contracts examined by the Inland Revenue, what were the job categories of the contracts submitted; how many were found to be (a) exempt and (b) not exempt from the IR 35 rates; and if he has revised the expected revenue yield from IR35. [127868]

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Member to the remarks I made in the course of the Finance Bill Standing Committee Debate on 6 June 2000, Official Report, Standing Committee, column 450.

Parliamentary Questions

Mr. Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 19 June 2000, Official Report, column 106W, on what date he will answer the question tabled by the right hon. Member for Birkenhead on 9 May. [128034]

Mr. Timms: I have done so today, at column 541W.

EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT

ONE Service

Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what back-up systems exist to assist jobseekers in the case of the (a) breakdown and (b) malfunctioning of the ONE system; when he will review the operation of the ONE system; and if he will make a statement. [125891]

Ms Jowell [holding answer 13 June 2000]: The ONE Call Centre service, one of the three main variants of the ONE model, is proving popular with clients and staff. It streamlines the service and makes it more convenient to clients, who are able to provide information by telephone.

The ONE Call Centre service is delivered from four sites. Each pilot has agreed contingency plans in the event of a breakdown or malfunction of systems, which ensures that the delivery of services to jobseekers is not put at risk.

The advantage of having four sites sharing the same telephony and IT is that, should a breakdown or malfunction occur in one site, the service can be offered by telephone from one of the other three call centres. Additional contingency plans involve the delivery of services face to face and the use of clerical records and forms rather than IT systems. These contingencies have been tested by the pilots in a number of situations since they became operational on 29 November 1999 and have proven robust.

The operation of the ONE pilots is under constant review and regular reports are provided to Ministers. The pilots are due to run for three years (to March 2002) and a formal evaluation will be completed at that time.

Mr. Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment which organisations and individuals he has consulted while undertaking the cross departmental review on Welfare to Work and ONE; in what form he has consulted them; on how many occasions he has met them; and if he will make a statement. [126294]

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Ms Jowell [holding answer 19 June 2000]: All the Departments involved have consulted widely with both individuals and groups from all the Departments. This was reinforced by a seminar which included many people from the academic and wider policy community held on 18 January 2000 to discuss policy priorities. We have also sought other advice during the course of the review, for instance, from the New Deal Task Force.

The Welfare to Work and ONE Spending Review is progressing well. In due course details of all aspects of the 2000 Spending Review will be included in a Spending Review White Paper in the normal way.

Teachers (Early Leavers)

Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many (a) primary and (b) secondary school teachers left the teaching profession before reaching the age of 40 in each of the last 10 years; and how many of them did so within five years of qualifying as a teacher. [126315]

Ms Estelle Morris: The following table shows the number of maintained nursery, primary and secondary full and part-time teachers in England who left the maintained nursery, primary, secondary, special and PRU sector (15), (f16) under age 40 and the number who left within five years of qualifying as a teacher.

	Nursery/primary teachers aged under 40		Secondary teachers aged under 40
Financial year	All leavers	Leavers within five years	All leavers	Leavers within five years
1988-89	6,300	1,300	10,000	2,300
1989-90	5,900	1,800	8,900	2,400
1990-91	6,800	2,200	8,600	2,400
1991-92	5,900	2,000	6,600	2,000
1992-93	5,100	1,800	5,700	1,800
1993-94	4,600	1,800	5,100	1,700
1994-95	5,100	2,100	5,400	2,100
1995-96	4,400	1,900	5,000	2,300
1996-97	4,700	2,100	4,900	2,400
1997-98	5,000	2,200	5,100	2,500

(15) Excludes those leaving sixth form colleges. Sixth form colleges became part of the FE sector as at 1 March 1993.

(16) Includes those taking ill-health retirement, barred and dying in service, which amounts to less than 200 in either phase for any year

Note:

Figures are rounded to the nearest 100.

There was a growth in total numbers of 3,500 full-time equivalent regular teachers in maintained nursery/primary schools and 3,100 full-time equivalent regular teachers in maintained secondary schools between January 1998 and January 2000.

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