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Llew Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received from the Make Poverty History in 2005 campaign; and what actions he has taken as a result. [215263]
Mr. Timms:
In advance of the G7 Finance Ministers meeting the Make Poverty History campaign and its supporters called on the Chancellor for action on debt, aid and trade. At the meeting the G7 Finance Ministers agreed: to provide on a case by case basis as much as 100 per cent. multilateral debt relief for heavily indebted poor countries; a work programme on the IFF and other financing measures and; to ensure that the Doha Round of trade negotiations delivers substantial benefits to developing countries.
9 Feb 2005 : Column 1594W
Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost of staff mobile phone bills was in each year since 1997. [214896]
Mr. Timms: The cost of mobile phones is not recorded under a separate accounting code.
Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many mobile telephones have been reported lost or stolen from the Department in each year since 1997; and what the cost was in each year. [214996]
Mr. Timms: For the Treasury, the numbers of mobile phones reported lost or stolen and the estimated costs are one in 2002 at an estimated cost of £200; three in 2003 at an estimated cost of £600; and three in 2004 at an estimated cost of £600.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total expenditure by his Department on (a) advertising and (b) advertising and publicity was in (i) 199697, (ii) 199798 and (iii) 200304; and what the estimated cost of each will be in (A) 200405, (B) 200506, (C) 200607 and (D) 200708. [211664]
Mr. Timms: The core Treasury spending on advertising and publicity, excluding costs of advertising for the purpose of staff recruitment, was as follows:
Advertising | Publicity | |
---|---|---|
199697 | n/a | n/a |
199798 | 0 | 0 |
200304 | 0 | 5 |
200405 (budgeted) | 0 | 10 |
The data for 199697 could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Estimates for future years are not available.
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many redundancies there have been in Coventry, South in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement. [214660]
Mr. Timms: The information requested falls within the responsibilities of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Colin Mowl to Mr. Jim Cunningham, dated 9 February 2005:
The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about redundancies. I am replying in his absence. (214660)
The attached table gives estimates of those people made redundant for the twelve month periods ending in February 2002, 2003 and 2004 in Coventry and the West Midlands Metropolitan County. Estimates are from the Labour Force Survey where respondents are asked about whether they have been made
As with any sample survey, estimates from the Labour Force Survey are subject to sampling variability.
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps have been taken by ECOFIN ministers to facilitate business recognition in the UK of the euro. [215201]
Mr. Timms: The Government continues, in consultation with business, to make information available to help UK business consider the practical and strategic implications of the euro for their business. An update of this work was published in Chapter 3 of the Report on euro preparations, December 2004", available in the House of Commons Library. All the material published by the Treasury to help UK business is available on the Treasury's euro website www.euro.gov.uk and can be ordered in hard copy.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the definition of unearned income in the context of the Single Farm Payment Scheme. [214649]
Mr. Timms:
For people carrying on a farming trade payments made under the Single Farm Payment Scheme will generally be classified as earned income", in the same way as their other trading income. For others, payments under the scheme may be classified as unearned income", because the scheme provides for payments to people who are not carrying on a trade.
9 Feb 2005 : Column 1596W
Mr. Tyrie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the speeches his special advisers made in an official capacity between 31 March 2003 and 31 March 2004, broken down by date. [210558]
Mr. Timms: No central records are held. All speeches given by special advisers are conducted in accordance with the requirements of the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many overpayments of (a) child tax credit and (b) working tax credit have been waived by the Inland Revenue over the period 2003 to 2005; and if he will make a statement; [213929]
(2) what his latest estimate is of the value of tax credit overpayments which have been written off by the Inland Revenue in (a) 200102, (b) 200203, (c) 200304 and (d) 200405; and if he will make a statement. [213963]
Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Member to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Aberdeen, South (Miss Begg) on 10 January 2005, Official Report, column 129W. For the value of overpayments written off by the Inland Revenue in (a) 200102 and (b) 200203 I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Eddisbury (Mr. O'Brien) on 12 November 2003, Official Report, column 394W.
The Inland Revenue's Code of Practice 26 (What happens if we have paid you too much tax credit?") sets out its approach to handling overpayments of tax credits, including those cases where the overpayment was a result of official error.
The value of overpayments of working tax credit and child tax credit that have been written off due to official error between their introduction and end of December 2004 is around £1.3 million.
I also refer the hon. Member to paragraph 2.10 of the Comptroller and Auditor General Report and page 124 of the Inland Revenue Annual Report and Accounts 2004.
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what problems have been experienced in the administration of the working families tax credit in Northern Ireland in the last 12 months; and what assessment he has made of whether recipients have suffered hardship. [214528]
Dawn Primarolo [holding answer 8 February 2005]: The Inland Revenue is not aware of any tax credits administration problems specific to Northern Ireland.
The Inland Revenue's Code of Practice 26 (What happens if we have paid you too much tax credit?") sets out its approach to handling overpayments of tax credits.
Where the Inland Revenue identifies an overpayment after the end of the year, it collects it from a continuing award, wherever possible, subject to automatic limits, which are applied after a claimant's award for the current year has been calculated.
9 Feb 2005 : Column 1597W
Claimants can contact the Inland Revenue if the reduced payments cause hardship, or they think a possible overpayment should not be recoveredthey will consider whether to make additional payments for the rest of the year.
Mr. Tyler: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what grounds the Inland Revenue will remit tax credit overpayments in instances where they have not acted upon information received within 30 days. [215186]
Dawn Primarolo: The Inland Revenue's Code of Practice 26 (What happens if we have paid you too much tax credit?") sets out its approach to handling overpayments of tax credits.
A claimant will not be asked to pay back an overpayment where it was caused by a mistake by the Inland Revenue and it was reasonable for the claimant thinking their award was right. Where the Inland Revenue has made a mistake and does not act on information provided by a claimant within 30 working days and it was reasonable for the claimant to think their award was correct, it will not ask for an overpayment to be paid back.
Mr. Tyler: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Aberdeen, South (Miss Begg) of 10 January 2005, Official Report, column 129W, on tax credits, in how many cases concerning the 1,600 people who have had their tax credit overpayments written off on grounds of official error, the Inland Revenue had failed to act upon information received within 30 days. [215334]
Dawn Primarolo: This information requested is not available. The Inland Revenue does not keep separate records of those cases where an overpayment has been written off on grounds of official error.
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