APPENDIX
Archy Kirkwood Esq, MP
Chairman
Work and Pensions Select Committee
House of Commons
London SW1A 0AA
20 July 2001
Dear Mr Chairman
SOCIAL SECURITY SELECT COMMITTEE
REPORT ON THE INTEGRATED CHILD CREDIT
The Government welcomes this report and the Select
Committee's interest in the development of the new integrated
system of support for children. The input of committee members
with experience and commitment to this area of policy making is
most helpful.
The integrated child credit is central to our continuing
commitment to abolish child poverty within a generation and it
is extremely helpful to hear from the expert witnesses who submitted
evidence to the inquiry. Officials involved in the development
of the new credit have a continuing dialogue with many of the
groups who submitted evidence and we regard this kind of dialogue
as a key element of the Government's evidencebased approach
to policy making.
The Inland Revenue has today published a consultation
document detailing the Government's proposal to introduce two
new tax credits in 2003, an integrated child credit and an employment
tax credit. In putting together this consultation document consideration
has been given to the many important issues and recommendations
raised in the Committee's report as well as to the evidence submitted
to the Committee by some of the acknowledged experts in this area.
The Committee's report has been invaluable in informing the Government's
thinking.
The consultation document provides a detailed description
of how the new tax credit system is intended to work and sets
out the proposed basic rules and eligibility criteria. A copy
of the consultation document is attached. The Government's responses
to the Committee's recommendations are set out below and, where
appropriate, reference is made to that part of the consultation
document covering the issues raised in a particular recommendation.
Recommendations covering related themes have been grouped together.
Once again we thank the Committee for their detailed
and helpful report and look forward to hearing the views of the
Committee members and others during the consultation period.
Dawn Primarolo
Paymaster General
| Right Honourable Baroness Hollis
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State
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