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Tax Credit
Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his latest estimate is of total expenditure on all forms of tax credit in each year from 1998–99 to 2004–05; and if he will make a statement. [20316]
Dawn Primarolo: Figures and projections from 2000–01 to 2002–03 appear at Table B11 of the pre- Budget report. Equivalent figures for the earlier years appear in the Financial Statement and Budget reports issued at March 2000 and March 2001.
Employees
Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what estimates he has made of financial sector employee bonuses for upper rate taxpayers for each of the years (a) 1998–99, (b) 1999–2000, (c) 2000–01 and (d) 2001–02; and if he will make a statement; [20306]
- (2) what estimates he has made of the change in bonus payments made to financial company employees between 2000–01 and 2001–02; and if he will make a statement. [20313]
Dawn Primarolo: I regret that estimates are not available. I refer the hon. Member to paragraph B41 of the 2001 pre-Budget report.
Receipts
Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he has taken to request that the National Audit Office should carry out an audit of all assumptions underlying the changes in the current receipts set out in Table B8, p.174 of the pre-Budget report between the Budget and the pre-Budget report; and if he will make a statement. [21001]
Mr. Andrew Smith: The assumptions underlying the public finance projections which are audited by the National Audit Office under the three-year rolling review, established in Budget 2000, are set out in Box B1 on page 169 of the pre-Budget report.
Equity Prices
Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his estimate is of the effects on the public finances of a 10 per cent. increase in UK equity prices; and if he will make a statement. [20315]
Mr. Andrew Smith: The effect of changes in equity prices on the public finances is discussed in paragraph B35 of the pre-Budget report.
Working Families Tax Credit
Mr. McLoughlin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will reply to the letter of 8 November from the hon. Member for West Derbyshire on the working families tax credit. [21469]
Dawn Primarolo: The letter was not received and a copy has been requested.
6 Dec 2001 : Column: 528W
Department of Health (Underspend)
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the reasons for the underspend in the Department of Health in the last financial year. [20478]
Mr. Andrew Smith: The underspend by the Department of Health last year was approximately 1.5 per cent. of their total budget. Over one third of this was a planned contingency to meet costs falling in the following year.
Renewco
Chris Grayling: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the Office for National Statistics determined that Renewco would be classified as the public sector. [20417]
Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from John Kidgell to Mr. Chris Grayling, dated December 2001:
- The National Statistician has been asked to answer your question about the classification of Renewco. I am replying in his absence. (20417)
- I have already given details of the advice given and the dates in my reply to Theresa May MP, which appeared in Hansard.
Unitary Authorities (Populations)
Mr. Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many unitary authorities have a population of less than 100,000; and if he will list them together with their respective populations. [20543]
Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Andrew Mitchell, dated December 2001:
- As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your question concerning the number of unitary authorities which have a population of less than 100,000 persons. (20543)
- The table below shows the unitary authorities with fewer than 100,000 residents at mid-2000, together with their estimated populations.
| Unitary authority | Number of residents |
|---|---|
| Rutland | 37.8 |
| Merthyr Tydfil | 55.8 |
| Isle of Anglesey | 64.8 |
| Blaenau Gwent | 71.2 |
| Ceredigion | 72.2 |
| Monmouthshire | 87.4 |
| Torfaen | 89.8 |
| Denbighshire | 91.8 |
| Hartlepool | 92.3 |
Source:
Office for National Statistics, Crown Copyright 2001
6 Dec 2001 : Column: 529W
Departmental Expenditure Limit
Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what reasons his Budget 2001 estimate of total departmental expenditure limit spending was £3.4 billion higher in 2000–01 than the estimate given in his November pre-Budget report; and if he will make a statement. [20318]
Mr. Andrew Smith: Because the pre-Budget report takes account of and revises (in Table B16) the outturn figures published in the Public Expenditure Outturn White Paper (Cm 5243) in July.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will set out his latest estimates of the underspends by each departmental expenditure limit for 2000–01; and if he will make a statement. [20317]
6 Dec 2001 : Column: 530W
Mr. Andrew Smith: Provisional outturn against final plans and original limits in departmental expenditure limits on both a cash and accruals basis are given in Tables 1 and 1a of the July Public Expenditure Outturn White Paper (Cm 5243). The outturn has been revised and republished Department by Department in Table B16 of the 2001 pre-Budget report (Cm 5318).
Stamp Duty
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the forecast cost over the (a) current and (b) next three financial years of the stamp duty exemption for SIPs. [20484]
Dawn Primarolo: Estimates of the cost of the exemption for the share incentive plan to 2003-04 were given in the Budget 2001 report.