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Income Tax

Mr. Cameron: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many and what percentage of income taxpayers paid tax at each of the bands for (a) 1996, (b) 1997, (c) 1998, (d) 1999 and (e) 2000. [5624]

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Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Member to "Inland Revenue Statistics", table 2.1. The latest version is on the Inland Revenue website—www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/stats.

Mr. Cameron: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of income tax was taken from taxpayers paying tax at the 40 per cent. rate in each of the years 1997 to 2001. [5622]

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Member to "Inland Revenue Statistics", table 2.5. The latest version is on the Inland Revenue website—www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/stats.

Employment Tax Credit

Mr. Bacon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what age limits will be applied to the employment tax credit when it is introduced. [5420]

Dawn Primarolo: On 19 July, the Inland Revenue issued a consultation document inviting comments on its proposals for implementing the next generation of tax credits, the integrated child credit for families with children and the employment tax credit for low-income working households. Final decisions on the eligibility rules for the employment tax credit will be taken in the light of responses to that document.

Household Income

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of households facing marginal deduction rates in (a) 2001–02, (b) 2000–01, (c) 1999–2000 and (d) 1998–99 over (i) 70 per cent., (ii) 60 per cent. and (iii) 50 per cent.; and if he will make a statement. [5400]

Dawn Primarolo: Historical estimates from 1997–98 to 1999–2000 of the number of households facing marginal deduction rates in excess of 50 per cent. are contained in the Social Security Departmental Report—The Government's Expenditure Plans 2000–01 to 2001–02. Forward-looking estimates, which include the impact of the tax and benefit changes in the last four Budgets, are contained in the table. The effect of the tax and benefit changes is to reduce the number of households facing marginal deduction rates in excess of 70 per cent. by around half a million.

Marginal deduction rate	Before Budget 1998(17)	After Budget 2001(17)
Percentage
100 or more	5,000	0
90 or more	130,000	40,000
80 or more	300,000	210,000
70 or more	740,000	255,000
60 or more	760,000	900,000
50 or more	760,000	1,100,000

⁽¹⁷⁾ The numbers in the table are cumulative and show the numbers of households in receipt of either income related benefits or the WFTC where at least one person works 16 hours or more.

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International Financial Organisations

(Transparency)

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of his Department's progress towards achieving more openness in the operations of the international financial institutions; and if he will make a statement. [5399]

Ruth Kelly: The Government believe that greater openness in the operations of the international financial institutions can play a key part in improving effectiveness in all aspects of their business, in increasing accountability to members, and in contributing to a greater public understanding of their role of the world economy. Recent positive steps have included the creation of an independent evaluation office at the IMF.

Two publications in particular detail the Government's current policy towards openness and transparency. These are the Treasury's annual report to Parliament "The UK and the IMF 1999–2000" (available online at www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/pdf/2001/imf–2201.pdf), and the Government White Paper on International Development "Eliminating World Poverty: Making Globalisation Work for the Poor" (available online at www.globalisation.gov.uk). In addition, the G7 Finance Ministers agreed a report on progress in the reform of the international institutions and the multilateral development banks at their meeting in Rome on 7 July (available online at www.g7–2001.org/en/roma/call–frame–rapporto-1.htm).

Departmental Electronic Publishing

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what aggregate measure of performance has been developed to monitor electronic publishing of material hitherto published on paper by his Department; and if he will publish the results of this measure for the last three financial years. [5401]

Ruth Kelly: The majority of official documents produced for external distribution by HM Treasury are now published simultaneously in hard copy and electronic form. Use of the Treasury's website has increased by about 20 per cent. a year in each of the last three years. The department now has more than 4,000 individual visitors to the website each day, rising to more than 50,000 individual visitors around the Budget period.

Census

Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the discovery of bags containing census forms outside St. Hilda's East Community Centre, London. [5559]

Mr. Boateng: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.

Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Norman Baker, dated 20 July 2001:

As National Statistician and Registrar General for England and Wales, I have been asked to reply to your recent question on the discovery of census forms in bags outside St. Hilda's East Community Centre, London (5559).

The Census forms were allegedly found in waste bags adjacent to St. Hilda's Community Centre, Old Nichol Street, London E2 by a local resident.

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A room within this Community Centre was used as a secure local field office for three Census District Managers and their teams to help with the enumeration of four Census Districts in the area. Setting up local offices in this way was part of the Census 2001 strategy for city areas particularly.

The work carried out at the Centre involved the handling of completed census forms returned by the Royal Mail or otherwise collected by field staff. It was an established collection point for the transfer of census forms to the national processing centre at Widnes.

Waste census material was placed in bags in an alleyway adjoining the Centre ready for collection by an authorised contractor as arranged by the local census field staff. All staff working in the office were aware of the importance of the confidentiality of the materials and of the explicit instructions given by Census HQ for the transfer of spoilt or unused forms to HQ under separate cover.

During the closedown stages of the Census in late June, a household telephoned the Regional Management Team at Census HQ to say he had been complaining to the local staff about waste material being placed in the alleyway outside the flats because he viewed this is a fire hazard. Census field staff had tried to resolve this issue locally.

The householder was clearly not satisfied by this and subsequently retrieved and opened a bag containing completed census material and retained it. Despite efforts by the local Census field staff, the householder refused to hand back the material. It was finally retrieved without incident by one of the Census District Managers with the assistance of a senior officer from the Metropolitan Police in attendance.

A local inspection by the Census District Manager revealed that the material included census forms, some of which were completed. The material was subsequently securely transferred to ONS Titchfield whereupon a detailed examination is being carried out.

There are 190 forms, some of which contain personal information. Many are torn in half or have various notations on them. A full analysis is being carried out, including inspection of other boxes of completed forms at the processing centre, to determine exactly the status of those that have been retrieved. From what I have learned so far, it is possible that these forms which appear to have been put aside for return to HQ as spoilt forms, had been accidentally put out as waste for special collection.

The confidentiality of information provided on census forms is of paramount importance to me and to all of my staff who have been working on the Census. The ONS has an extremely high and well-deserved reputation for protecting confidential information and I regret any breach that has occurred here. The circumstances of the case are unusual and the evidence I have suggests that this is an isolated incident.

Census information is strongly protected by law and I will commission a thorough investigation to establish the facts and make recommendations to me about any further action that might need to be taken. When I have my report I will make it available to the Data Protection Commissioner to the Minister for National Statistics.

I am deeply concerned about any possible breach of census confidentiality, and I am treating this particular incident very seriously. I will write to any individuals whose information may have been revealed to explain the situation and the actions that have been taken.

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