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10 Jun 2003 : Column 746W—continued
Child/Working Tax Credit
John Barrett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many people in Scotland are (a) eligible for and (b) in receipt of the child tax credit, broken down by (i) local authority and (ii) parliamentary constituency; [117094]
- (2) how many people in Scotland are (a) eligible and (b) in receipt of the working tax credit, broken down by (i) local authority and (ii) parliamentary constituency. [118253]
Dawn Primarolo: It is estimated that 430,000 families in Scotland are expected to receive the child tax credit and 90,000 families are expected to receive the working tax credit (including some who are also expected to receive the child tax credit). Estimates are not available for each local authority or parliamentary constituency.
Statistics on awards of these tax credits will be published in August.
Council Tax
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answers of 27 March 2003, Official Report, columns 335–36W, on council tax, if he will update his answers using the effects of taxes and benefits on household income 2001–02. [118271]
John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Matthew Taylor, dated 10 June 2003:
- As National Statistician. I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking for an update for 2001–02 of the figures for council tax given in the previous answer of 27 March 2003 for 2000–01. (118271)
- Estimates for council taxes and income are based on the analysis "The effects of taxes and benefits on household income 2001–02" produced by the ONS and published on the National Statistics website on 11 April 2003 and in Economic Trends in the May 2003 edition. The analysis can be obtained from the House of Commons Library. This includes measures of income inequality for the United Kingdom as a whole based on data from the Expenditure and Food Survey.
- The following table shows the estimated gross and net council tax for all households in Great Britain and (a) England, (b) Scotland and (c) Wales, for each income quintile where households are ranked by equivalised disposable income. The net council tax figures are gross council tax less benefits and discounts. The table also shows the equivalised disposable income quintile point boundaries, which have been calculated separately for Great Britain and each country. For example, the first quintile point for each country is the income below which one fifth of households in that country are estimated to lie.
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| Quintile groups of all households ranked by equivalised disposable income | All | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bottom | Second | Third | Fourth | Top | households | |||||
| Quintile points (equivalised disposable income, £ per year) | ||||||||||
| Great Britain | 10,448 | 14,822 | 20,138 | 28,746 | ||||||
| England | 10,578 | 15,006 | 20,548 | 29,269 | ||||||
| Scotland | 9,846 | 13,574 | 18,404 | 26,409 | ||||||
| Wales | 9,934 | 14,174 | 18,259 | 25,245 | ||||||
| Gross council tax | ||||||||||
| Great Britain | 7.1 | 4.4 | 3.1 | 2.3 | 1.4 | 2.5 | ||||
| England | 7.1 | 4.3 | 3.0 | 2.2 | 1.3 | 2.5 | ||||
| Scotland | 8.4 | 5.3 | 3.8 | 3.0 | 2.1 | 3.4 | ||||
| Wales | 6.2 | 3.4 | 2.6 | 2.1 | 1.4 | 2.3 | ||||
| Net council tax(9) | ||||||||||
| Great Britain | 4.7 | 3.3 | 2.8 | 2.2 | 1.4 | 2.2 | ||||
| England | 4.6 | 3.3 | 2.8 | 2.2 | 1.3 | 2.1 | ||||
| Scotland | 5.0 | 4.0 | 3.3 | 2.9 | 2.1 | 2.9 | ||||
| Wales | 4.2 | 2.5 | 2.4 | 2.0 | 1.3 | 2.0 | ||||
(9) Net council taxes after deducting benefits and discounts.
Source:
Office for National Statistics, based on the analysis 'The effects of taxes and benefits on household income' published on the ONS website and in Economic Trends No. 594 May 2003
Hotel Accommodation
Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the amount spent by (a) his Department, (b) its agencies and (c) its non-departmental public bodies on hotel accommodation (i) in the UK and (ii) abroad for (A) Ministers, (B) staff and (C) others; and if he will list the average cost per hotel room, in each year since 1997. [117559]
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John Healey: Figures for amounts spent on hotel accommodation for staff could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Figures for total travel and subsistence for Treasury civil servants, which include hotel accommodation, are given in the tables. All travel is conducted in accordance with the requirements of the Civil Service Management Code.
| 1997–98 | 1998–99 | 1999–2000 | 2000–01 | 2001–02 | 2002–03 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core Treasury | 1,069 | 1,455 | 1,619 | 11,718 | 1,611 | 2,019 |
| DMO | 9 | 26 | 9 | 17 | 25 | |
| OGC | 1,518 | 2,020 | 2,124 |
Note:
The Debt Management Office did not exist as a separate body prior to 1998–99. The Office of Government Commerce did not exist as a separate body prior to 2000–01. OGC figures include OGCbuying.solutions
The Government publish an annual report of ministerial travel overseas. The total cost of ministerial travel provided in the annual report includes the costs of accommodation. The information sought in respect of accommodation within the UK is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. All travel is conducted in line with the requirements of the Ministerial Code.
Equal Pay
Angela Eagle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress has been made on completing a pay audit in his Department and its non-departmental public bodies to measure any disadvantage in terms of remuneration for (a) women, (b) ethnic minorities and (c) people with disabilities; and if he will publish the results of such an audit. [117428]
John Healey: The Treasury has completed the Equal Pay Review, this was undertaken jointly with the Unions. The final report has been agreed by both parties and was submitted to the Cabinet Office by end of April 2003. In due course the report will be made available to all staff and lodged in the Library of the House.
Although the audit does not specifically cover ethnic minorities and people with disabilities, the Treasury will be undertaking a review of these areas by the end of December 2003.
EU Savings Tax Directive
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the ruling of the President of the Court of the First Instance of the European Communities that the imposition of the EU Savings Tax Directive on Britain's Overseas Territories is not a legal requirement that flows from the Directive itself. [115317]
Dawn Primarolo: The EU Taxation of Savings Directive is directly applicable to the member states of the European Union. It is not directly applicable to the dependent and associated territories named in the Feira agreement. However, the Directive will not come into effect until arrangements are in place with such territories to apply the same measures as in the Directive.
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Investment Services Directive
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with (a) the Financial Services Authority and (b) the London Stock Exchange with regard to the proposed Investment Services Directive. [117464]
Mr. Boateng: The Investment Services Directive is one of the topics discussed when Treasury Ministers meet members of the Financial Services Authority and those involved in the financial services industry.
At official level, the Treasury and FSA (together with the Bank of England and the UK's Permanent Representation to the European Community) have a joint project team working on the proposed Directive. The project team has frequent contact with representatives of the London Stock Exchange, as well as representatives of many other financial services businesses, trade associations and consumer groups.
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will make a statement on the proposed investment services directive being considered by the European Parliament; [117465]
- (2) what assessment he has made of the effect the proposed investment services directive will have on the level of competition in the share dealing market in the UK. [117680]
Mr. Boateng: The European Commission adopted a proposal for a revised investment services directive on 19 November 2002. Discussions on the proposal started in Council working groups in January and are on-going. The European Parliament is due to begin its first reading of the proposed directive in July.
The Government believe that the proposed directive should be assessed against the following objectives:
- (a) to reduce the cost of capital in the EU by removing barriers to the supply of investment and market infrastructure services and addressing informational asymmetries in the retail market; and
(b) to maintain the integrity of the financial system.
In particular, the Government believe that the proposal for introducing a mandatory quote disclosure rule for investment firms would undermine competition between trading venues and discourage liquidity provision, leading to less efficient markets and worse outcomes for retail investors.
The Government also believe that investors should continue to be allowed to make use of low cost, efficient, execution-only services. As such, investment firms should have to assess the suitability of particular products for their clients only when providing them with advice.
The Government believe that there are ways in which the proposed directive should be amended in order to remove measures that could unnecessarily inhibit competition in the share dealing market—and thereby
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increase the potential benefits for consumers, including retail investors. Efforts are currently being made to secure these beneficial amendments to the draft directive.
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what research he and the agencies for which he is responsible have commissioned into the cost of the proposed investment services directive for stockbrokers; and if he will publish the results. [117681]
Mr. Boateng: The Treasury has had extensive discussions with representatives of financial services businesses and trade associations to ascertain the impact of the proposed investment services directive on the financial markets. These contacts have included a consideration of the potential costs—and benefits—of the proposed directive for stockbrokers.
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