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Charities
Mr. Cox: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the estimated annual cost is to his Department of tax allowances granted to charities operating in England and Wales. [139463]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The total cost of tax reliefs for charities in the UK is estimated at over £2 billion for 1999-2000. Where available, a breakdown of the cost of tax reliefs for charities in England and Wales are shown in the table.
| United Kingdom | England and Wales | |
|---|---|---|
| Repayment of tax(23) | 821 | 775 |
| Business rates relief | 600 | 540 |
| Inheritance tax exemption of transfers to charities on death | 350 | 320 |
(23) Breakdown provided covers England, Wales and Northern Ireland
Third World Debt
Mr. Cox: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his latest estimate is of the level of debt owed by countries in the Third World. [139466]
Miss Melanie Johnson: There is no agreed definition of the "Third World". Full figures for debt held by countries can be found in "Global Development Finance, 2000" published by the World bank.
Departmental Investment Strategies
Barbara Follett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he proposes to publish the White Paper on Departmental Investment Strategies; and when Departments will publish their own departmental investment strategies. [139900]
Mr. Andrew Smith: "Departmental Investment Strategies: A Summary" (Cm 4916) is being presented to Parliament and published today. Departments are also publishing their own Departmental Investment Strategies on their websites today and copies are available in the Libraries of both Houses.
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Tax Credits
Mr. Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate how many claimants there are of (a) working family tax credit child care payments, (b) disabled persons' tax credit and (c) disabled persons' tax credit child care payments in Newcastle upon Tyne; and what is the average payment in each case. [139646]
Dawn Primarolo: There are too few cases in the 5 per cent. sample used for these analyses to provide reliable estimates at the local authority level of the number of families receiving the child care tax credit within Working Families' Tax Credit (WFTC), or the average extra payment resulting from this credit.
For the total number of families benefiting from WFTC in Newcastle upon Tyne, I refer my hon. Friend to my answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Hull, North (Mr. McNamara) on 8 November 2000, Official Report, column 274W. About 6.7 per cent. of families on WFTC in the North East region at May 2000 received the child care tax credit, and their average extra payment resulting from this credit was about £29 per week.
Estimates of the number of recipients of the Disabled Person's Tax Credit (DPTC) in each local authority at the end of April are shown at Table 5.3 in the DPTC Quarterly Enquiry for April 2000. A copy has been placed in the Library. The average weekly payment to recipients in Newcastle upon Tyne was £67.
Working Families Tax Credit
Mr. Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 16 November, Official Report, column 758W, what information he has received from the Department of Social Security with respect to benchmarking the level of fraud associated with the working families tax credit. [139747]
Dawn Primarolo: The Department of Social Security has not benchmarked the level of fraud within the Working Families' Tax Credit.
Mr. Edwards: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people in (a) part-time and (b) full-time employment in the Monmouth constituency receive the Working Families Tax Credit. [139276]
Mr. Roy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of families in each parliamentary constituency who receive the Working Families Tax Credit. [139102]
Dawn Primarolo: For the total number of recipients I refer my hon. Friends to my answer to hon. Friend the Member for Bury, North (Mr. Chaytor) on 1 November 2000, Official Report, column 515W.
Cold-related Deaths
Mr. Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer in (1) how many deaths in England and Wales in 1999 hypothermia was mentioned on the death certificate, broken down between (a) all ages, (b) those aged 60 to 74, (c) those aged 75 to 84 and (d) those aged 85 and over; [137268]
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- (2) how many excess winter deaths there were in England and Wales in 1999-2000 (a) in all age groups, (b) for those aged 60 to 74, (c) for those aged 75 to 84 and (d) for those aged 85 and over; [137269]
(3) in how many deaths in 1999 in England and Wales hypothermia was mentioned on the death certificate for (a) all age groups, (b) those aged 60 to 74, (c) those aged 75 to 84 and (d) those aged 85 years and over; [136545]
(4) what was the number of excess winter deaths in 1999-2000 for (a) all ages, (b) those aged 60 to 74, (c) those aged 75 to 84 and (d) those aged 85 years and over. [136550]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, I have asked him to reply.
Letter from John Pullinger to Mr. Austin Mitchell, dated 22 November 2000:
- The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent questions on deaths in 1999 in England and Wales where hypothermia was mentioned on the death certificate (136545/137268) and the number of excess winter deaths in 1999-2000 (136550/137269). I am replying in his absence.
- The information requested is given in the following tables.
| Number | |
|---|---|
| All ages | 325 |
| 0-59 | 58 |
| 60-74 | 55 |
| 75-84 | 102 |
| 85+ | 100 |
| Number | |
|---|---|
| All ages | 49,440 |
| 0-59 | 2,660 |
| 60-74 | 9,350 |
| 75-84 | 16,990 |
| 85+ | 20,440 |
The figures for winter 1999-2000 are provisional and will only be finalised in October 2001 when data for all deaths occurring in 2000 becomes complete.
Excess winter deaths are defined by National Statistics as the difference between the number of deaths during the four winter months (December to March) and the average number of deaths during the preceding autumn (August to November) and the following summer (April to July).
Departmental Employees (HIV)
Mr. Wigley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will take steps to ensure that people who are HIV- positive do not suffer discrimination as a result of employment practices followed by his Department. [137779]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The Treasury is an equal opportunities employer. Employment policies are in place to guard against discrimination to ensure that there are no
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unfair or unlawful discriminatory barriers to employment or advancement in the Treasury. These policies apply to all staff.
UNUM Ltd.
Mr. Hilary Benn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many complaints he has received in the last five years about UNUM Ltd. in relation to the operation of its permanent health insurance policies; and if he will make a statement; [139258]
- (2) if he will draw the attention of the Financial Services Authority to complaints he has received about UNUM Ltd. in relation to the operation of its permanent health insurance policies; [139259]
(3) if he will make a statement on his inquiries into UNUM Ltd. in relation to the operation of its permanent health insurance policies in the case of Mr. E Sales. [139403]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The Treasury has received a small number of complaints about companies which provide permanent health insurance products since becoming responsible for the insurance industry in 1998, and no specific inquiries have been launched in respect of the case of Mr. Sales. However, I understand that Mr. Sales's complaint has been considered by the Insurance Ombudsman.
Arbitration for group insurance policies will in future fall within the remit of the Financial Ombudsman service which will be extended to provide access for those who cannot be considered under the present arrangements.
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