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16 May 2003 : Column 484W—continued

Market Research

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what expenditure has been incurred by her (a) Department, (b) agencies and (c) non-departmental bodies in 2002 on (i) opinion polling, (ii) focus groups and (iii) other forms of market research; and if she will list the surveys commissioned and the purpose of each. [106269]

Mrs. Liddell: No expenditure has been incurred by my Department on opinion polling, focus groups or other forms of market research.

National Insurance

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the cost will be to public funds in 2003–04 of the rise in national insurance contributions on the salary bill of her Department. [107904]

16 May 2003 : Column 485W

Mrs. Liddell: It is estimated that the changes to employers' national insurance contributions will increase pay costs on average by 0.7 per cent. in the current year.

Parental Leave

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many staff in her Department have used their leave entitlement under the Parental Leave Directive since it came into force. [108417]

Mrs. Liddell: No staff in my Department have applied for leave under the Parental Leave Directive.

However, the Department is committed to helping its staff achieve a better balance between their home, family obligations and their work. Parental leave can play an important part in achieving this.

Press Office

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people are employed in her Department's press office; and how many were employed on 2 May 1997. [108397]

Mrs. Liddell: The Scotland Office was established in its present form on 1 July 1999. Four staff are currently employed in the Department's press office.

Secondments

Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many individuals have been seconded to her Department from (a) the private sector, (b) NGOs and (c) other, in each case listing (i) from which organisation and (ii) dates of secondments in (A) 2001–02 and (B) 2002–03. [108097]

Mrs. Liddell: Two individuals were seconded to my Department from the Bank of Scotland in 2002, and two individuals were seconded from the House of Lords, one in 2001 and one in 2002.

Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many civil servants have been seconded from her Department to (a) the private sector, (b) NGOs and (c) other, broken down by (i) grade of civil servants seconded, (ii) location and (iii) dates of secondments in each year since 1990–2000. [108098]

Mrs. Liddell: No civil servants have been seconded from my Department to the private sector, NGOs or elsewhere.

Sickness Absence

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many staff in her Department were on long term sick leave in each of the last five years. [109250]

Mrs. Liddell: The Scotland Office was established in its present form on 1 July 1999. Since that date, only one member of staff has had a period of long-term sick leave.

16 May 2003 : Column 486W

TREASURY

European Central Bank

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with his counterparts in the European Union about the establishment of a smaller committee of the European Central bank for setting interest rates. [114101]

Ruth Kelly: The recommendation on the voting modalities of the European Central bank's governing Council was discussed by ECOFIN on 7 March 2003. The Council, in the composition of Heads of State or Government, adopted a decision on the voting modalities of the European Central bank on 21 March 2003.

Futurebuilders Fund

Dr. Kumar: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the objectives of the Futurebuilders fund; on what criteria its funds are to be allocated; and how voluntary and community groups can apply. [114300]

Mr. Boateng: Objectives and proposals for use of the Futurebuilders fund are set out in the consultation document published on 30 April, which is available in the House Library. The fund manager will make details of how voluntary and community organisations can apply available when the fund comes on stream.

Manufacturing

Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps is he taking to support manufacturing in the North West. [113464]

John Healey: Manufacturers globally are facing difficult times as the world economy slows. This Government remains committed to delivering a stable macroeconomic environment which will allow businesses to plan, invest and grow, whilst at the same time taking a range of measures to boost Productivity, Enterprise and Skills.

In particular, corporation tax is now lower than in any major industrialised country. Cuts in capital gains tax mean the UK's CGT regime will be more favourable than the US's since April. R&D tax credits for large companies will provide an important boost to UK manufacturing and Regional development Agencies have been created to drive growth in every region.

The North West has a forward-looking RDA, pioneering new approaches to better co-ordination and delivery of business support and workforce development, and to working more closely with universities. The North West development Agency has helped create the UK's first regional Science & Industry Council, helping to finance science-led projects in bio-manufacturing and the creation of a world-class science and technology university hub in Manchester. The NWDA has also been allocated £991 million for the three years to 2005–06 to play a key role in driving economic development and regeneration across the region.

16 May 2003 : Column 487W

Tax Credits

Mr. Howard: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people were employed by the Inland Revenue to process applications for (a) child tax credit and (b) working tax credit in each month since April 2002. [111388]

Dawn Primarolo: The numbers of staff employed by the Inland Revenue on processing claims to new tax credits in the year to 31 March 2003 were as follows:

	Number
September 2002	19
October 2002	978
November 2002	1,941
December 2002	2,578
January 2003	3,455
February 2003	4,336
March 2003	4,502

The figures quoted are monthly full time equivalents.

Mr. Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the amount he will collect in (a) income tax and (b) national insurance from people entitled to one or both of the new child and working tax credits in (i) 2003–04 and (ii) 2004–05. [107408]

Dawn Primarolo: The estimated liabilities for those expected to receive Child Tax Credit, Working Tax Credit or both are given in the table. The income tax liabilities exclude the negative tax element of the tax credits

£ billion

	2003–04	2004–05
Income tax	14.5	15.7
Employee and self-employed national insurance contributions	7.0	7.4

Mr. Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much of the expenditure on each of the new personal tax credits in (a) 2003–04 and (b) 2004–05 will be defined as (i) negative taxation and (ii) public expenditure. [107409]

Dawn Primarolo: The estimates are given in the table.

£ billion

	2003–04	2004–05
Child tax credit
Negative taxation	2.6	3.0
Public expenditure	5.5	8.5
Working tax credit
Negative taxation	0.6	0.7
Public expenditure	2.4	2.6

Mr. Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the Answer by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Work and Pensions on 2 April 2003, Official Report, column 721W, on benefits, for what reasons information on the number of individuals eligible for (a) working tax credit and (b) child tax credit is not available. [110936]

16 May 2003 : Column 488W

Mr. Howard: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of households eligible for (a) child tax credit, (b) working tax credit and (c) both. [111392]

Dawn Primarolo [holding answer 1 May 2003]: Reliable information on the eligible population for the Working and Child Tax Credits will not be available until survey data for 2003–04 has been produced and analysed.

Mr. Brady: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer of 8 May, Official Report, columns 791–2W, on Tax Credits, which Inland Revenue offices have made interim payments of child tax credit; and how many payments there were and what their value was, broken down by office. [113196]

Dawn Primarolo [holding answer 13 May 2003]: In the vast majority of cases, special arrangements for payment of Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit are not necessary.

Where, exceptionally, a payment is due but has not, for some reason been received, all local Inland Revenue Enquiry Offices have the ability to issue same day interim payments. Collated figures for the number and value of interim payments of Child Tax Credit are not readily available.

Mr. Howard: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has set a deadline for the payment of all overdue tax credits. [111383]

Dawn Primarolo: The Revenue has set up tax credit awards for all claims made by 25 April or, if not, it is because more information is needed from claimants or further checks are required before a decision is made. Over 3.3 million awards are being paid. This includes the 2 million families opting to get their money every 4 weeks, who were sent their first payment of tax credits by Friday 2 May, as planned.

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