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15 May 2003 : Column 377W—continued
Income Tax
Mrs. Anne Campbell To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate how much revenue
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would have been raised in the financial year 2002–03 by a 50 per cent. rate of tax on taxable income over £100,000 pa. [113412]
Dawn Primarolo: The additional full-year yield of a 50 per cent. rate of tax on taxable income over £100,000 in 2002–03 is £4.2 billion. This estimate is based on the Survey of Personal Incomes and is consistent with the April 2003 Budget.
This estimate excludes any behavioural response to the tax change.
John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people in residential care homes in England and Wales pay income tax. [113777]
Dawn Primarolo: I regret the requested information is not available.
Mr. Evans: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much money the Inland Revenue holds from overpayment of income tax. [112926]
Dawn Primarolo: The amount of money held at any one time for income tax overpayments is not accurately identifiable. This is because several systems cover different groups of taxpayers and an overpayment may not arise until an Income Tax liability has been established. How overpayments and potential repayments are identified and dealt with will depend on the group of taxpayers being considered. For example different procedures apply for employees and for Self Assessment taxpayers.
Mr. Evans: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of people who overpaid income tax in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [112927]
Dawn Primarolo: The information requested is not available.
Inflation
Mr. Flight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average levels of inflation of (a) public and (b) private sector costs have been in each year since 1997 on (i) goods, (ii) services and (iii) labour. [112740]
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. Howard Flight, dated 15 May 2003:
- As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question on levels of inflation of public and private sector costs on goods, services and labour. (112740)
- Data that exactly match those requested in the question are not available. The attached table shows the nearest available figures.
The household consumption deflator measures the change in prices of all goods and services purchased by households regardless of whether they are purchased from public or private sectors.
The government consumption deflator measures the change in prices of goods and services produced by government.
As with all deflators, this may not fully reflect the change in quality of the services produced.
The gross fixed capital formation deflator measures the price of capital goods. There is no separate deflator for public and private sector purchases.
The average earnings index covers earnings but not include other components of labour costs.
The Retail Prices Index is the main domestic measure of inflation in the United Kingdom. It measures the average change in the prices of goods and services purchased by most households in the UK.
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Low Pay
Mr. Simon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what measures he is taking to increase the take-home pay of those in low paid work. [113276]
Dawn Primarolo: The Government introduced the first ever National Minimum Wage in April 1999 and has recently announced that, from October 2003, the National Minimum Wage will increase from £4.20 to £4.50. Subject to an assessment of the future economic situation, it will increase again to £4.85 in October 2004. At least 1.3 million workers stand to benefit from the 2003 increase, and 1.7 million from the 2004 increase. Since the introduction of the National Minimum Wage in 1999, low paid workers will have seen their wages increase by 25 per cent. by October 2003.
The Government have reduced taxes for lower-paid workers. As a consequence of the introduction of the 10p rate of income tax in 1999, and the subsequent to the basic rate down to 22p in 2000, 3 million low paid workers now pay lower taxes. The reforms to the National Insurance Contributions have removed the unfair "entry fee" and have raised the point at which employees start paying NICs from £66 in 1999 to £89 per week now, while leaving their entitlement to contributory benefits protected.
In 1999 the Government introduced the Working Families Tax Credit, which reached nearly 1.4 million families with children, helping around 550,000 more families than the old Family Credit at its peak. Building on this success, from April 2003 the Working Tax Credit improves support for workers on low and moderate earnings and for the first time extends support to single people and couples without children, provided they are aged 25 or over and they work at least 30 hours per week. Alongside the Working Tax Credit, the Government have introduced the Child Tax Credit, that supports families with children and it is paid in and out of work. The Child Tax Credit is expected to benefit 5.75 million families, and will channel £13 billion in support to families, most of them on low and moderate incomes.
As a consequence of the reforms illustrated above, from October 2003 a family with one child and one adult working 35 hours per week at the National Minimum Wage will be guaranteed an income of £241 per week, while a couple without children and one adult working
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35 hours a week will take home at least £187 per week. These figures compare with £182 in April 1999 for a family with one child and £117 for a childless couple. Before the introduction of the National Minimum Wage, no minimum income from work could be guaranteed.
Manx Government
Mr. Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what issues his Department has discussed with the Manx Government since the beginning of 2002. [113066]
Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 11 February 2002, Official Report, columns 104–05W.
National Insurance
Mr. Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many women pay reduced rate Class I National Insurance Contributions; what estimate he has made of their level of earnings; and what their percentage increase in national insurance contributions was in April. [113067]
Dawn Primarolo: An estimated 50,000 women will pay the reduced rate of Class 1 National Insurance Contributions in 2003–04 and their estimated average earnings is £290 per week. These estimates have been provided by the Government Actuary Department and are consistent with Budget 2003.
The married women's reduced rate was increased by 1 percentage point in April this year.
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
Mr. Dhanda: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the effect of SARS on (a) the economy in Asia and (b) the world economy. [113735]
Mr. Boateng: Paragraph B13 of chapter B of the April 2003 Financial Statement and Budget Report (HC 500) discussed the potential consequences of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). The government continues to monitor the situation closely
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Stability and Growth Pact
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of recent reforms to the Stability and Growth Pact. [114102]
Ruth Kelly: The Government are committed to publishing a comprehensive and rigorous assessment of the five tests within two years of the start of this Parliament. A number of detailed supporting studies will be published alongside the assessment. As set out in the 6 September 2002 'Paper for the Treasury Select Committee on the Treasury's Approach to the Preliminary and Technical Work', a supporting study will be published on "The robustness of the arrangements for macroeconomic stability—including the Stability and Growth Pact—and their contribution to overall economic performance".
We continue to discuss with our EU colleagues our support for a prudent interpretation of the SGP, which takes into account the economic cycle, sustainability and the important role of public investment.
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