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24 Mar 2003 : Column 62W—continued
Inland Revenue
Mr. Stunell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many complaints officers posts there were at all grades within the establishment of the Inland Revenue on 1 April on each of the last five years; and what the total annual (a) salary and (b) on-cost was in each year. [104102]
Dawn Primarolo: For the year to 31 March 2002, 271 staff in the Inland Revenue's Local and National Services offices were dedicated to complaints work at a salary cost of £5.69 million. Other running costs were approximately £540,000.
Other parts of the Inland Revenue also have staff whose duties include complaints handling. For the year to 31 March 2002 this resource is estimated to be equivalent to 20 full time staff at a salary cost of £600,000 and other running costs are estimated at approximately £40,000.
The Inland Revenue's network of offices was reorganised in April 2001 and responsibilities for dealing with complaints changed accordingly. Comparable figures for earlier years are not available following the fundamental changes in Inland Revenue structures and organisation.
Low Incomes (Leigh)
Andy Burnham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people in Leigh were earning less than (a) £4.50, (b) £4.85 and (c) £5.00 per hour and the latest date for which figures are available. [104601]
Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Andy Burnham, dated 24 March 2003:
- As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question about the number of people in the Leigh parliamentary constituency earning less than £4.50. £4.85 and £5.00 per hour. (104601)
- The Office for National Statistics (ONS) calculates estimates of the number of jobs paid below low pay thresholds from £2 to £7 at 10p intervals for the United Kingdom. These data for the years 1998–2002 can be found on the National Statistics website at:
- http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme labour/l Opbands.xls
- Estimates for Parliamentary Constituencies are not available.
- A guide to measuring low pay and associated articles and data can be found on the National Statistics website at:
- http://www.statistics.gov.uk/CCl/nugget.asp?ID=188&Pos=44&ColRank=l&Rank=208
Pensions
John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Financial Services Authority is able to allow
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pension providers to continue selling new pension policies that are not based on the parameters set by the Statutory Money Purchase Illustration regulations coming into force on 6 April. [103545]
Ruth Kelly [holding answer 18 March 2003]: A comprehensive FSA regime is already in place to govern the sale of personal pensions.
The requirement to provide Statutory Money Purchase Illustrations (SMPI's), for holders of existing contracts, will come into effect from 6 April 2003. These will show what personal pension income may be worth in retirement at today's prices. They are designed to help pension savers determine whether they are saving enough for retirement.
The SMP1 regulations, and the technical memorandum that informs them, will ensure these illustrations are prepared using standard assumptions.
Following consultation in April 2002, the FSA has made rules to bring its post-retirement assumptions into line with those in SMPI's.
Saving Gateway
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the Saving Gateway scheme. [103913]
Ruth Kelly: Pilots for the Saving Gateway, an account designed to provide transparent incentives to save for low-income individuals, were launched in August 2002. The pilots, located in Cambridgeshire, Cumbria, Gorton, Hull and Tower Hamlets, end in February 2005 and have been designed to provide a regular stream of information and data. Further development of the Saving Gateway, including the appropriate level of the match rate and the criteria to be used to determine eligibility, will follow in light of evaluation evidence. A statement on the progress of the pilots will be provided in the Budget.
Scotland
Pete Wishart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many times he has visited Scotland on official duties each year since 2000; and what meetings were held on each occasion. [103624]
Ruth Kelly: The Chancellor visited Scotland on official duties twice a year in 2000, 2001 and 2002. He has visited Scotland on official duties once so far this year. It would not be appropriate to disclose details of the meetings concerned, as provided for under Exemptions 2 and 7 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.
Second Homes
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate his Department has made of (a) the capital investment made by UK residents in second homes overseas and (b) the number of UK residents who have purchased second homes overseas. [104887]
Ruth Kelly: These figures are not available.
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Self-Employment
Ms Atherton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what estimate has been made of the number of self-employed workers in the UK in the last five years; and what proportion of workers this represents in each year; [104437]
- (2) what estimate has been made of the number of employees in supermarkets who are self- employed. [104438]
Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Ms Atherton, dated 24 March 2003:
- As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Questions about total self-employed people and those working in supermarkets.
- The attached table gives the number and percentage of self-employed people in the United Kingdom for the three month period ending January for each of the last five years. These estimates are from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) and are seasonally adjusted.
- Information on the number of self-employed people working in supermarkets is not available.
| November to January | Thousand | Percentage(25) |
|---|---|---|
| 1998–99 | 3,144 | 11.7 |
| 1999–2000 | 3,084 | 11.4 |
| 2000–01 | 3,064 | 11.2 |
| 2001–02 | 3,078 | 11.2 |
| 2002–03 | 3,184 | 11.4 |
(25) Self employed as a percentage of all in employment
Note:
These Labour Force Survey (LFS) estimates are Seasonally Adjusted (SA) and have been interim adjusted to take account of the recent Census 2001 results.
Source:
ONS Labour Force Survey
Sustainable Timber Products
Ms Walley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how companies are selected by the Office of Government Commerce for the list of Sustainable Timber Products and Supplier Information; how often the list is updated; how companies who would like to supply such products to Government can be added to the list; and what action will be taken if evidence becomes available that suppliers on this list are dealing in timber from (a) illegal and (b) unsustainable sources. [100577]
Mr. Boateng: In line with the Government commitment made in July 2000 following a statement by the Minister of the Environment, the Office of Government Commerce, including OGCbuying.solutions, is actively seeking to ensure that all timber supplied through OGCbuying.solutions contracts is from legal and sustainable sources.
To that end OGCbuying.solutions publishes on its website a list of 'OGCbuying.solutions Sustainable Furniture and Timber Products'. This provides relevant information on companies that have successfully tendered for inclusion in OGCbuying.solutions
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framework arrangements. The current list is on its fourth revision and was last updated in January 2003. Revisions and updates are made on a periodic basis given any relevant changes in status.
The list only includes companies that have successfully tendered for inclusion in OGCbuying.solutions framework arrangements. Companies must tender for inclusion in the framework arrangements through periodic competitions that are advertised in the Official Journal of the European Communities.
Should evidence become available that any company included in an OGCbuying.solutions framework arrangement has knowingly obtained timber from (a) illegal (b) unsustainable sources they would be removed from the published list.
Tax Credits
Mr. Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will answer question 94020, on the working tax credit, tabled on 23 January. [104657]
Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 20 March 2003, Official Report, column 908W.
Mr. Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his estimate is of the number of claim forms for (a) child tax credit and (b) working tax credit that have been (i) issued and (ii) returned. [104712]
Dawn Primarolo: There is a single claim form for these tax credits.
By 28 February 2003 about 5.5 million claims forms had been issued and over 3 million claims received (including 334,000 on-line).
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