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4 Apr 2005 : Column 1177W—continued
Tax Rates (York)
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people in (a) the UK, (b) Yorkshire and the Humber and (c) the City of York pay (i) half or more than half of their income tax and (ii) all of their income tax at the 10 pence starting rate. [224686]
Dawn Primarolo:
I refer my hon. Friend to table 2.1 Number of individual income taxpayers" on the InlandRevenue website www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/stats/income_tax/table2–1.pdf. This table shows that 3.4 million income taxpayers in the UK in 2004–05 pay all of their income tax at the starting rate. 4.7 million UK income taxpayers pay half or more than half of their total income tax liability at the starting rate. These estimates are based upon the Survey of Personal Incomes 2002–03 and are consistent with the pre-Budget
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report 2004. Estimates consistent with the Budget 2005 will be published on the Inland Revenue website at the end of April 2005.
I refer the hon. Friend to table 3.11 Income and tax, by region and country", 3.15 Total income by parliamentary constituency" and the introductory note on personal incomes on the Inland Revenue website for the available income tax statistics for Yorkshire and the Humber and the City of York. The information can be found at www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/stats/income–distribution/table311–0203.pdf, www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/stats/income–distribution/table-3–15.pdf and www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/stats/income–distribution/inc-distribution-note.pdf.
VAT (Child Care)
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the impact on the voluntary sector's ability to deliver welfare services of his decision to refund the VAT which local authorities incur in the provision of child care and children's centres. [224198]
Dawn Primarolo: Where the Government procure welfare services from voluntary and community sector providers, it should be on the basis of full cost recovery, including any associated VAT costs providers incur. This decision will therefore have no adverse impact on the delivery of welfare services by voluntary and community sector organisations.
Working Tax Credit
Mr. Win Griffiths: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his latest estimate is of the number of families eligible for, but not claiming, working tax credit in (a) Wales, (b) Scotland, (c) Northern Ireland, (d) England and (e) Bridgend; and what plans he has to improve take-up. [224303]
Dawn Primarolo: Information on the number of families eligible for, but not claiming working tax credit is not available.
Estimates of the number of UK families who are entitled to child and working tax credit in 2003–04 will not be published until household survey data have been analysed. Subject to ensuring the data and methodology are sufficiently robust, we expect the analysis to be completed towards the end of 2005–06.
Estimates of the number of in-work families receiving tax credits in each country and constituency appear in Child and Working Tax Credit Statistics. Geographical analyses. December 2004." This can be found on the Inland Revenue website at http://www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/menu.htm. The estimates are based on a sample of cases, and are subject to sampling uncertainty.
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For details of the Inland Revenue's work to encourage take-up, I refer the hon. Member to my reply on 24 March 2005, Official Report, columns 949–50W to the hon. Member for Coventry, South (Mr. Cunningham).
Mr. Willetts:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people aged over 50 years have
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claimed the return to work element of the working tax credit in each quarter since the introduction of the payment. [224675]
Dawn Primarolo:
Numbers of beneficiaries based on final 2003–04 incomes and circumstances will be published on 31 May 2005.
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TRANSPORT
Air Fares
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has made an assessment of the likely effect on air fares of the new compensation rules agreed by the European Union in respect of air passengers; and if he will make a statement. [224151]
Charlotte Atkins: An assessment of the likely impact of Council Regulation 261/2004 on air fares was set out in the Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) accompanying Explanatory Memorandum 12190/03 sent to the Parliamentary Scrutiny Committees on 29 September 2003. A final, updated version of the RIA will be placed in the Llibraries of both Houses shortly as an annex to the RIA accompanying the UK's associated enforcement Regulations.
Air Travellers (Financial Protection)
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what estimate he has made of the percentage of UK international leisure air travellers that were covered by ATOL in each of the last 10 years; and what percentage his Department estimates will be covered in five years' time; [224609]
(2) if he will implement the Transport Select Committee's recommendation in its report, Financial Protection for Air Travellers, Fifteenth Report, Session 2003–04, to apply a levy on the sale of all tickets. [224610]
Charlotte Atkins: Statistics compiled by the Civil Aviation Authority indicate the percentage of UK international leisure air travellers covered by ATOL over the last 10 years was as follows:
The Civil Aviation Authority has not yet submitted advice to Government on its economic assessment of the wider options relating to the future financial protection of air travellers. This advice will project ATOL protection over the next 10 years. Only when we have considered this advice will the Government be in a position to respond substantively to the Transport Select Committee.
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Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what research he has undertaken into the effectiveness of scheduled airline failure insurance as a means of repatriating those stranded overseas following airline failure; [224611]
(2) what percentage of air travellers his Department estimates are protected by scheduled airline failure insurance. [224612]
Charlotte Atkins: The Department has not commissioned research into the effectiveness of scheduled airline failure insurance, which allows stranded passengers to recover their costs of getting home. We understand from the insurance industry that some 7 million people are estimated to be protected by such insurance, bought either directly by the customer or indirectly via the agent selling the air ticket. This represents approximately 20 per cent. of the UK international leisure travel market.
Automatic Number Plate Recognition
Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how long after a vehicle is (a) licensed for the first time and (b) relicensed the information about that licence is included on the database for Automatic Number Plate Recognition. [224517]
Mr. Jamieson: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency provides police automated number plate recognition cameras with details of vehicles which have been unlicensed for two months or more. From April this information will be provided twice monthly. Details of licensed vehicles are not provided.
As a separate exercise, the DVLA vehicle database is downloaded onto the Police National Computer every 24 hours. This gives the police access to information about the vehicle keeper and indicates if the vehicle has been unlicensed for more than three months.
Brighton Main Line
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to issue his official response to the route utilisation study strategy for the Brighton Main Line. [224022]
Mr. McNulty: Consideration is being given to the issues raised during consultation and a final route utilisation strategy will be published in due course.
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