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10 May 2004 : Column 147W—continued

Fuel Cell Technology

Mr. Todd: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what fiscal incentives are available to UK companies involved in the development of fuel cell technologies; and if he will make a statement. [171264]

John Healey: The Chancellor announced in Budget 2002 that hydrogen would be exempt from fuel duty for a limited period, to encourage further development and early take-up. Budget 2002 also introduced enhanced capital allowances for investments in hydrogen fuelling infrastructure. In addition, companies developing fuel cell technologies can benefit from research and development tax credits, announced in Budget 2000. The Department of Trade and Industry is responsible for other measures to support the development of fuel cell technologies, including through the Advanced Fuel Cells Programme. The Carbon Trust, which is funded by revenue recycled from the Climate Change Levy, supports the development of innovative technologies.
 
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Income Tax

John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how income tax receipts as a percentage of the total tax take have varied over the last 20 years. [171310]

Dawn Primarolo: The information requested can be found on the Inland Revenue website: www.inlandrevenue. gov.uk/stats/tax   receipts/table1–2.pdf Personal tax credits are classified as negative income tax in these statistics to the extent that they offset the income tax liability of the family. This affects the figures from October 1999 onwards. Total tax take is defined as net taxes and social security contributions. The data are not published as a series. However the figure for 2002–03 can be found in   the Budget 2004 Financial Statement and Budget Report, Table C8.

Inland Revenue Guidance

Mr. Barnes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will arrange for the Inland Revenue to publicise the   hardship provisions in its Code of Guidance on overpayments. [170096]

Dawn Primarolo: I refer my hon. Friend to the replies I gave my hon. Friend, the Member for Glasgow Anniesland (John Robertson) on 21 January 2004, Official Report, column 1259W and the hon. Member for North Norfolk (Norman Lamb) on 27 February 2004, Official Report, columns 570–71W.

Job Vacancies (Oldham, West and Royton)

Mr. Meacher: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many job vacancies there were in Oldham West and Royton in (a) 1997 and (b) 2003. [170898]

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. Meacher dated 10 May 2004:

As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about job vacancies in Oldham West & Royton. (170898)

According to Jobcentre Plus administrative records the number of unfilled vacancies in the Manchester travel-to-work area was 9,767 on average during 1997. This represents only a proportion of all the vacancies available, as not all vacancies are notified to Jobcentres.

Figures are not available for Oldham West & Royton alone because the vacancies are allocated to local Jobcentres, not according to constituency boundaries, and because of the practice of notifying some vacancies centrally with one Jobcentre taking vacancies for others in the same district.

Jobcentre vacancy statistics were withdrawn from National Statistics in September 2001 as a result of distortions to the data, which occurred following the introduction of new administrative procedures by Jobcentre Plus. Comparable figures for vacancies in 2003 are therefore unavailable.

Results from the ONS Vacancy Survey were released as National Statistics from July 2003, but are not available for local areas.

Productivity

Bob Spink: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what action he is taking to (a) increase the productivity and (b) cut the costs of his Department and its agencies and non-departmental public bodies. [171882]

 
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Ruth Kelly: The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced in the Budget that the Government are setting a stretching but realistic target for the whole public sector to deliver efficiencies of 2.5 per cent. a year over the three years of the 2004 Spending Review period. Meeting this target would deliver efficiency gains equivalent to £20 billion a year by 2007–08. The administration costs of all Departments are to be capped at or below the 2005–06 nominal level for 2006–07 and 2007–08. The Budget set out detailed proposals for meeting this target in relation to DWP, IR and HMCE.

All Departments continue to work closely with Sir    Peter Gershon to prepare detailed efficiency proposals for consideration in the 2004 Spending Review. Departments' agreed efficiency programmes will be published in parallel with the Spending Review settlement.

Public Sector Employment

John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much he expects employment in the public sector, excluding the areas of health and education, to change from financial year (a) 2004–05 to 2005–06 and (b) 2005–06 to 2006–07. [171259]

Mr. Boateng: A gross reduction of at least 54,000 civil servants by 2008 was announced in the Budget, and further reductions will be realised as efficiency plans are implemented. This will reflect back office workforce reductions and redeployment to the frontline.

John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on variations in the workforce employed in the public sector in England over the last 20 years. [171312]

Mr. Boateng: Public sector workforce figures are set   out in ONS Labour Market Trends (September) publication.

Public Spending

John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what (a) change and (b) percentage change he expects in levels of public spending excluding health, education and defence (i) in 2004–05 compared with 2003–04 and (ii) in 2005–06 compared with 2004–05. [171243]

Mr. Boateng: The latest figures for spending in these years for education were set out in table 1.2 of Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses (PESA) 2004 (CM6201), and on every function in tables 3.8 and 3.9 of PESA 2004.

Statutory Paternity Pay

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many men have (a) requested and (b) received statutory paternity pay since its introduction; and if he will make a statement on the success of the take-up of this entitlement. [169299]

Dawn Primarolo [holding answer 29 April 2004]: The statistics requested are not currently available.
 
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Tax Credits

Mr. Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to complete the process whereby families in receipt of income support and jobseeker's allowance move on to the child tax credit. [169393]

Dawn Primarolo [holding answer 29 April 2004]: I refer the hon. Member to my answer to the hon. Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne) on 11 March 2004, Official Report, column 1645W.

Mr. Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families in receipt of (a) income support and (b) jobseeker's allowance have been moved on to the child tax credit. [169395]

Dawn Primarolo [holding answer 10 May 2004]: I   refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Romford (Mr. Rosindell) on 11 March 2004, Official Report, column 1645W.

John Barrett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will compensate those people who have received tax credit payments above the level to which they were entitled because of administrative errors and who are to have future payments reduced as a result. [170050]

Bob Spink: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what compensation is available to people whose (a) working tax credit and (b) family tax credit payments are improperly stopped; and if he will make a statement. [171090]

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Members to what I said during the debate in the House on 7 July 2003, Official Report, column 860.

Mr. Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects awards for (a) child tax credit and (b) working tax credit in 2003–04 to be finalised. [170220]

Dawn Primarolo [holding answer 4 May 2004]: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for    Birmingham Northfield (Richard Burden) on 19 November 2003, Official Report, columns 1099–1100W.

Bob Spink: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will make a statement on the payment of working tax credit from the start of the current financial year and the adequacy of computer systems; [171088]

(2) if he will make a statement on the payment of family tax credit from the start of the current financial year and the adequacy of computer systems. [171089]

Dawn Primarolo: The new IT systems for tax credits were introduced as planned. As at 5 April 2004, there are 6.0 million families benefiting from tax credits. The publication date of the next issue of tax credits statistics by the Office for National Statistics will be announced in due course.

Geraldine Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment has been made of hardship caused to families as a result of the way tax credit overpayments are being recovered. [165418]

Dawn Primarolo: Additional payments were made in 2003–04, to help ensure that paying back tax credits overpayments did not cause hardship. In addition,
 
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because of the increased generosity of Child and Working Tax Credits the overall level of support to low and moderate income families is higher, reducing the risk of hardship.

The Inland Revenue's Code of Practice 26, "What happens if we have paid you too much tax credit?", sets out the rules that the Inland Revenue follows when adjusting an award to recover an overpayment.

As the Code sets out, the maximum amounts by which payments would be reduced is 10 per cent. for claimants receiving the maximum award; 100 per cent. for claimants receiving only the family element of Child Tax Credit and 25 per cent. for all other claimants.

Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the amounts of over-payments made to people through the working tax credit scheme; how many people have been overpaid; what arrangements are in place to enable people to manage to pay back these amounts; and if he will make a statement; [166041]

Mr. Wood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will conduct a review of the (a) investigation and (b) recovery of over-payments of (i) child and (ii) working tax credits by the Inland Revenue; and if he will make provision for claimants to appeal against (A) over-payment decisions and (B) recovery actions. [167058]

Dawn Primarolo [holding answer 19 April 2004]: I refer the hon. Members to the replies I gave the hon. Member for South Down (Mr. McGrady) on 3 February 2004, Official Report, column 828W, and the hon. Member for Norfolk North (Mr. Lamb) on 22 March 2004, Official Report, column 664W.

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