You are here: Parliament home page > Parliamentary business > Publications and Records > Hansard > Commons Debates > Commons Debates by date > Commons Debates - previous sessions > Bound Volume Hansard - Written Answers
Previous Section Index Home Page
11 May 2004 : Column 283W—continued

Tax Coding

Mr. Flook: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many notices of coding sent out in January to March for the 2004–05 tax year included car and fuel benefits attributable to the company car scheme which ceased in 2002–03. [167587]

Dawn Primarolo: The rules of the company car scheme changed in 2002–03. All the notices of coding issued between January and March for the 2004–05 tax year that included car and fuel benefits correctly included them under the new scheme. However, around 468,000 of the coding notices containing car and fuel benefits were incorrect because the rates for 2003–04 were mistakenly used instead of those for 2004–05. Amended notices of coding with revised figures to correct the error were issued in February before the 2004–05 codes were brought into operation.

Tax Repayments

Mr. Caton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the reasons were for the decision to limit the option of receiving Inland Revenue tax repayments by cheque to people without bank accounts. [172128]

Dawn Primarolo: The principal reasons for restricting the options for the method of repayment were to improve the level of service given to customers, to improve efficiency around the repayment process, and to improve the security of the payment.

By making a repayment electronically direct to a bank or building society account, the customer is able to have earlier use of the money than if a cheque had been sent through the post. An electronic repayment also has lower processing cost both for the Inland Revenue and the banking sector; and reduces the risk of the payment being intercepted.

But if the customer is unable to accept the repayment electronically, a cheque can be issued.

Timber

Ms Walley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his Department plans to contribute financially to the establishment of the second phase of the Central Point of Expertise on Timber. [167620]

John Healey: I refer my hon. Friend to an answer provided by my hon. Friend the Minister for Environment and Agri-Environment yesterday, Official Report, column 31W.

Unemployment

Mr. Borrow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the level of unemployment was in South Ribble in each year since 1997. [172011]

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.

Letter from John Pullinger to Mr. Borrow, dated 11 May 2004:


 
11 May 2004 : Column 284W
 


Annual average number of JSA claimants, South Ribble constituency, 1997–2003

Number
19971,281
19981,038
19991,034
2000921
2001763
2002759
2003740

Working Tax Credit

Mrs. Brooke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received on the stoppage or reduction of payment of the child care element of the working tax credit in response to earlier overpayments of child tax credit. [171646]

Dawn Primarolo: None. In a case where both working and child tax credit have been awarded and the child care element is payable, the family would be entitled to the maximum amount of child tax credit so we would not expect the situation to arise.

Tax credit awards are adjusted during the year so as to pay out the right amount for the year and prevent overpayments arising. The Inland Revenue's approach to dealing with tax credit overpayments is set out in a Code of Practice, "What happens if we have paid you too much tax credit?", available on the Inland Revenue's website or as a leaflet.

WORK AND PENSIONS

British Sign Language Interpreters

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to increase the number of qualified British Sign Language/English interpreters. [171012]

Maria Eagle: The lack of tutors at the higher levels is recognised as being a significant blockage in the system to recruit and train BSL/English interpreters. On 4 May, I announced we were putting in place a programme of work to support the Government's position statement on British Sign Language (BSL) and had raised the original funding allocation by a further half million to £1.5 million. One of the two priorities this work will address is helping establish a framework to support BSL tutors, for example by providing on-line training material and developing tutor support packs. These measures will, over time, assist an increase in interpreting provision.
 
11 May 2004 : Column 285W
 

Correspondence

Mr. Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he intends to reply to the letter from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton dated 5 April with regard to Mrs. Robina Abaid. [172265]

Mr. Andrew Smith: The letter has been transferred to my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer. I am sorry that due to an oversight it was not transferred earlier.

Pension Credits (Devon and Cornwall)

Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many eligible pensioners he estimates are not claiming (a) pension credits and (b) council tax credit in Devon and Cornwall, broken down by constituency. [171579]

Malcolm Wicks: The information is not available in the form requested. Estimates of numbers of people eligible are not available at any level lower than that of Government office region. However, the information in the tables gives the numbers of pension credit and council tax benefit recipients aged 60 and over in Devon and Cornwall for the latest dates for which figures are available. As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced on 21 April 2004, Official Report, columns 21–22, we have published the latest monthly pension credit progress report with information up to the end of March. The report, which is available in the Library, is accompanied by tables showing the number of pension credit households and corresponding individuals in each constituency in Great Britain.
Table 1: Pension credit recipients in Devon and Cornwall, 31 March 2004

CountyPension credit recipients (households)
Devon30,615
Cornwall26,090




Note:
Figures are rounded to the nearest five.




Table 2: Council tax benefit recipients aged 60 and over in Devon and Cornwall, 31 August 2003

Thousand
CountyCouncil tax benefit recipients (households)
Devon26.1
Cornwall22.0




Notes:
1.   The figures refer to benefit units, which may be a single person or a couple.
2.   The figures have been rounded to the nearest hundred and expressed in thousands.
3.   Figures for any non-responding authorities have been estimated.
4.   Council tax benefit totals exclude any second adult rebate cases.
5.   "Aged 60 and over" refers to cases where the claimant and/or partner are aged 60 or over.



Pensions

Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his answer of 23 April 2004, Official Report, column 709W, on pension forecasts, which (a) employers and (b) pension providers delivered combined pension forecasts in each year since their introduction. [171101]


 
11 May 2004 : Column 286W
 

Malcolm Wicks: The names of the employers and pension providers providing combined pension forecasts in each year since their introduction are set out in the table.


 
11 May 2004 : Column 287W
 

Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his answer of 23 April 2004, Official Report, column 709W, on pension forecasts, how many individuals have received a combined pension forecast; and how many of that number have received a forecast on (a) one, (b) two, (c) three and (d) more than three occasions. [171102]

Malcolm Wicks: The information requested is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is as follows.

DWP has supplied 1,120,048 state pension forecasts to employers or pension providers for inclusion in combined pension forecasts. However the number of individuals who have received combined forecasts will be less than the total number of forecasts issued. This is because:

all of the employers and providers currently delivering combined pension forecasts issue them annually to their scheme members and therefore some individuals will have received more than one forecast over the period since the service has been available;

some individuals may receive a combined forecast from more than one pension provider.

Next Section Index Home Page