| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
6 May 2004 : Column 1737W—continued
TREASURY
Efficiency Gains
Mr. Letwin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress has been made in implementing 2.5 per cent. per year efficiency gains since the 2004 Budget Statement. [168601]
Mr. Boateng: I refer the right hon. Gentleman to my answer to him of 1 April 2004, Official Report, column 1677W, which gave more specifics of reductions in the tax—and in particular that of the 14,000 job reductions by 2007–08, 8,000 will be made by Inland Revenue, 3,000 by HM Customs and Excise and 3,000 will result from the merger.
Employment (Oldham, West and Royton)
Mr. Meacher: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the levels of long-term (a) adult and (b) youth employment in Oldham, West and Royton in the last seven years. [170947]
Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Michael Meacher, dated 6 May 2004:
As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about unemployment. (170947)
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles statistics of unemployment from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) following International Labour Organisation definitions. However, the LFS sample size is too small to give reliable estimates of unemployment in the Oldham, West and Royton Parliamentary Constituency.
ONS also compiles statistics of those claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (ISA) for local areas including parliamentary constituencies.
The attached table gives the annual average number of people claiming JSA for over 12 months, and the annual average number of these claimants aged 18 to 24 years, in the Oldham, West and Royton constituency, for each year since 1997. The table also shows the annual average total number of JSA claimants in the constituency for these years.
| Claimants for at least 12 months(7) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Oldham, West and Royton parliamentary constituency, 1997–2003 | All claimants | All ages | Aged 18–24 |
| 1997 | 2,615 | 664 | 107 |
| 1998 | 2,319 | 417 | 53 |
| 1999 | 2,364 | 388 | 14 |
| 2000 | 2,092 | 337 | 15 |
| 2001 | 2,033 | 267 | 8 |
| 2002 | 2,013 | 232 | 11 |
| 2003 | 1,868 | 175 | 9 |
(7) Computerised claims only.
Source:
Office for National Statistics.
6 May 2004 : Column 1738W
Mr. Meacher: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people were employed in tourism-related jobs in Oldham, West and Royton on the latest date for which figures are available. [170905]
Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Michael Meacher, dated 6 May 2004:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about tourism-related jobs in Oldham, West and Royton. (170905)
The latest available data, from the 2002 Annual Business Inquiry, shows that the total number of jobs in tourism related industries in Oldham, West and Royton Parliamentary Constituency was 2,600. This total is obtained by combining figures for those working in the following industries, as identified by Standard Industrial Classification 2003:
hotels
restaurants
bars
activities of travel agencies
library, archives, museums etc
sporting activities
other recreational activities.
Government Revenue
John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of which significant economic factors have had an effect on the level of Government revenue over the last seven years. [171258]
Ruth Kelly: An assessment on the main economic factors effecting Government revenues is made available each year in the public finances chapter of the pre-Budget report and Budget.
National Insurance Contributions/Numbers
Mr. Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the effect on revenue from employee national insurance contributions (NICs) if the rate of NICs for employees who are not contracted out of the state second pension were to be reduced to the rate currently paid by employees who are contracted out. [171034]
Ruth Kelly
[holding answer 5 May 2004]: The Government Actuary's Department estimates that rebates worth £1.9 billion would be accrued if all contracted-in employees were to pay national insurance contributions that were reduced by 1.6 per cent. of earnings between the lower earnings limit and upper earnings limit in 2004–05. This estimate excludes the additional age-related or employer rebates that would be paid for a contracted-out person.
6 May 2004 : Column 1739W
Norman Lamb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what checks are made on the national insurance numbers used by employment agencies and gangmasters; what action is taken if a non-valid national insurance number is being used for an individual employed by an agency or a gangmaster; and if he will make a statement. [171050]
Ruth Kelly: The Inland Revenue check the validity of national insurance numbers which are notified to them by an employer (including as appropriate gangmasters or employment agencies) when a new employee joins, and at the end of each tax year as part of the employer's annual return. Where a non-valid national insurance number has been used, the Inland Revenue will attempt to trace a valid number for the individual involved. Where this cannot be done, the Inland Revenue will write to the employer asking him to provide a valid national insurance number for that employee.
Tax Credits
Mr. Pickthall: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families in West Lancashire have received child tax credit. [171494]
Ms Dari Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families in Stockton, South have received child tax credit. [171466]
Ruth Kelly: I refer my hon. Friends to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Burton (Mrs. Dean) on 15 March 2004, Official Report, column 98W.
Ms Dari Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many senior citizens in Stockton, South qualified for the 10p rate of income tax in each year since its introduction. [171465]
Ruth Kelly: All income taxpayers benefit from the 10p starting rate. The Survey of Personal Incomes estimates there are about 6,000 and 7,000 state retirement pension age taxpayers in the Stockton, South constituency in 2000–01 and 2001–02 respectively. However, year on year comparisons should be treated with caution because of sampling variation. Figures for 1999–2000 are currently not available.
Tax Avoidance
Mr. Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent agreements he has reached with regard to the creation of an international tax avoidance prevention task force; and what contribution he proposes to make to such a task force. [171040]
Ruth Kelly:
As a result of a Memorandum of Understanding signed in Williamsburg, Virginia on 23 April 2004, the Tax Commissioners of Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States will establish a joint task force, within the framework of bilateral tax treaties, to increase collaboration and coordinate information about abusive tax transactions, arrangements and schemes.
6 May 2004 : Column 1740W
The task force will be comprised of officials from the respective tax administrations. It will supplement the on-going work of these administrations in addressing the challenges arising from abusive tax transactions.
Tax Rates
Mr. Hendrick: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many senior citizens in Preston qualified for the 10p rate of income tax in each year since its introduction. [169680]
Ruth Kelly: All income taxpayers benefit from the 10p starting rate. The Survey of Personal Incomes estimates there are about 5,000 and 6,000 state retirement pension age taxpayers in the Preston constituency in 2000–01 and 2001–02 respectively. However, year-on-year comparisons should be treated with caution because of sampling variation. Figures for 1999–2000 are currently not available.
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many senior citizens in the Huntingdon constituency qualified for the 10p rate of income tax in each year since its introduction. [170847]
Ruth Kelly: All income taxpayers benefit from the 10p starting rate. The Survey of Personal Incomes estimates there are about 10,000 state retirement pension age taxpayers in the Huntingdon constituency in 2000–01 and 2001–02. Estimates should be treated with caution because of sampling variation. Figures for 1999–2000 are currently not available.
Mr. Meacher: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many senior citizens in Oldham, West and Royton qualified for the 10p rate of income tax in each year since its introduction. [170899]
Ruth Kelly: All income taxpayers benefit from the 10p starting rate. The Survey of Personal Incomes estimates there are about 5,000 state retirement pension age taxpayers in the Oldham, West and Royton constituency in 2001–02. In the Survey of Personal Incomes the sample size of pensioners living in this constituency is relatively small compared to other constituencies so a reliable estimate cannot be given for 2000–01 and the estimate for 2001–02 should be treated with caution because of sampling variation. Figures for 1999–2000 are currently not available.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |