| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Toddler Tax Credit
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what (a) research has been conducted into and (b) conclusions drawn about the implementation of the Childcare Commission's recommendation to fund a toddler tax credit. [28763]
Dawn Primarolo: The Government continue to keep under review the levels of support provided to families with children. Budget 2001 announced a number of measures to support families with young children, including improved maternity provision and a higher rate of children's tax credit of up to £20 a week in the first year of a child's life. Budget 2001 also announced increases of around one third in the child care cost limits in the child care tax credit component of the working families tax credit and disabled person's tax credit.
As the next stage of tax and benefit reform a new child tax credit, which will draw together all income related strands of support for families with children, will be introduced in 2003. The rates and thresholds for the new child tax credit will be set in Budget 2002.
Euro
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of British high street transactions have taken place in euros since 1 January. [28926]
Ruth Kelly: We understand from the British Retail Consortium that thus far such transactions have been less than 1 per cent. in volume and value terms.
Stolen Equipment
Mr. Menzies Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what equipment has been stolen from his Department since 1 May 1997; and what the approximate value of each item was. [26837]
Ruth Kelly: The following items were recorded as stolen:
| Year | Item(s) | Value(7) (£) |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 (May) | 2 Desktop PCs | 4,300 |
| 1 Laptop PC | 2,500 | |
| 1 Desktop PC | 1,900 | |
| 1 Laptop PC | 3,000 | |
| 1998 | 1 Laptop PC | 2,500 |
| 1999 | 1 Desktop PC | 2,000 |
| Computer memory | 25 | |
| 1 Laptop PC | 2,000 | |
| 1 Laptop PC | 3,000 | |
| 2000 | 1 LCD Projector | 2,000 |
| 2 Disk Drives | 300 | |
| 1 Laptop PC | 2,000 | |
| 2001 | 1 Laptop PC | 2,000 |
| 1 Personal Data Assistant (PDA) | 250 | |
| 1 Laptop PC | 2,000 | |
| 2002 | None recorded to date |
(7) Approximate
22 Jan 2002 : Column 701W
Married Couple's Tax Allowance
Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) men aged (i) under 65 and (ii) 65 and over and (b) women aged (1) under 60 and (2) 60 and over have been in receipt of married couple's tax allowance since 31 March 1999. [27544]
Dawn Primarolo: The numbers of taxpayers who received the married couple's allowance in 1999–2000 are given in the table.
| Number in receipt of the married couple's allowance | |
|---|---|
| Men under 65 | 7.8 |
| Men 65 and over | 1.8 |
| Women under 60 | 0.2 |
| Women 60 and over | 0.1 |
The estimates are based on the Survey of Personal Incomes.
Civil Registration
Mrs. Lawrence: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether there has been progress with the proposal to reform civil registration in England and Wales. [29887]
Ruth Kelly: A White Paper "Civil Registration: Vital Change", setting out the Government's proposals for modernising civil registration within England and Wales, is being published today. Copies are available in the Libraries of the House.
Parliamentary Questions
Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many answers to parliamentary questions have not been answered by his Department under exemption 13 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information in each year since 1994. [29424]
Ruth Kelly: Records are not kept of the number of occasions on which Treasury Ministers have not been able to answer parliamentary questions wholly or in part on grounds of commercial confidentiality. This information could be extracted from the thousands of answers given in a typical year only at disproportionate cost.
Correspondence
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will reply to the letters from the hon. Member for Truro and St. Austell dated 6 August 2001 and 1 November 2001, addressed to the Economic Secretary, regarding data protection. [28295]
Ruth Kelly: I hope to be in a position to write to the hon. Member very shortly.
Saving and Assets for All
Ms Walley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will make a statement in respect of the outcome of the consultation on Saving and Assets For All. [29366]
Ruth Kelly: Results of the consultation on proposals for the Child Trust Fund and Saving Gateway, launched in April 2001, were published with the pre-Budget report
22 Jan 2002 : Column 702W
in November 2001, in "Delivering Saving and Assets". This document also contained more detailed proposals for further consultation.
This second round of consultation, which will close on 28 February 2002, will inform the development of the proposals by the Government over the coming months, including as part of Spending Review 2002.
Child Poverty
John Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the action his Department has taken to reduce child poverty. [29277]
Dawn Primarolo: This Government are committed to abolishing child poverty within a generation and halving it by 2010. As part of this commitment, a strategy document entitled "Tackling child poverty: giving every child the best possible start in life" was published in December 2001. This document will inform the Budget and Spending Review 2002.
As a result of personal tax and benefit changes announced in the last Parliament, there are now 1.2 million fewer children in poverty than there would otherwise have been. In real terms:
- Families with children are, on average, £1,000 a year better off.
Families with children in the poorest fifth of the population are on average £1,700 a year better off.
A family with two young children on half average earnings (£12,700) are £3,000 a year better off.
- Increases in child benefit and the introduction of the children's tax credit. This means around 5 million families get up to £25.50 for the first child compared to £12.35 in 1997.
The introduction of the working families tax credit which benefits nearly 1.3 million families who are receiving, on average, £35 a week more than its predecessor, family credit.
A higher rate of children's tax credit from April 2002 which will be worth an extra £10 a week in the year of a child's birth—a total of up to £1,040 in that year.
Increases in the children's allowances in income support and other income related benefits which mean that rates for children under 11 rose by 80 per cent. in real terms.
WALES
Stolen Equipment
Mr. Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what equipment has been stolen from his Department since 1 May 1997; and what the approximate value of each item was. [26827]
22 Jan 2002 : Column 703W
Mr. Paul Murphy: The following items have been reported as lost or stolen:
| Description | Value (£) | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Camera | 200.00 | 1997–98 |
| Laptop | 107.00 | 1997–98 |
Note:
Figures relate to Welsh Office, Cadw, and Office of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools in Wales/Estyn up to 30 June 1999, and to Wales Office thereafter.
TRANSPORT, LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND THE REGIONS
Port Dues
Mr. Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions whether all ports in the UK charge port dues for ships coming into the port for repairs; which European ports around the North sea waive port dues for ships without cargo commitments coming in to port for repairs; and what assessment he has made of whether port dues place the port of Tyne at a competitive disadvantage to European ports which waive port dues for ships coming in for repair. [26043]
Mr. Spellar: All ships have the right to enter ports in the UK subject only to the payment of ship, passenger and goods dues. Statutory harbour authorities, including the port of Tyne, have the right to set such dues at whatever level they consider appropriate and may waive any of them at their own discretion. Harbour undertakings are paid for by their users—if dues are waived in any case, the cost is borne by others. Users have a right of objection to the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if they consider the dues to be unreasonable.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |