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Financial Ombudsman Service
Justine Greening:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer in what percentage of complaints submitted to the Financial Ombudsman Service resolved (a) after investigation by an adjudicator and (b) by final decision of an ombudsman the complaint was (i) found to be outside the FOS jurisdiction, (ii) withdrawn by the customer, (iii) not treated fairly by the firm concerned, (iv) treated fairly by the firm concerned, (v) treated
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generally fairly but the firm had agreed a goodwill payment and (vi) been subject to an offer from the firm but the FOS negotiated an improved amount, broken down by stage at which the complaint was resolved. [29875]
John Healey: In the year ending 31 March 2005, the Financial Ombudsman Service received 110,963 cases and resolved 90,908 cases.
The following table provides a breakdown of the outcome of cases in the categories asked for.
Government Balance Sheets
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what pension fund deficits of former nationalised industries are on the Government Balance Sheet. [27042]
Mr. Des Browne: Government Departments report all assets and liabilities in an open and transparent way in accordance with independently set accounting standards, which are based on those used in the private sector, and are subject to independent audit. Any government liabilities in respect of private sector pension funds are shown in individual departmental accounts but data is not held centrally on this.
HM Revenue and Customs
Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) whether HM Revenue and Customs is proposing to change the facilities which they offer to taxpayers who call at their inquiry offices; [29827]
(2) if HM Revenue and Customs will take steps to ensure that any taxpayer who is disabled is always able to meet staff face-to-face when attending an inquiry office. [29828]
Dawn Primarolo: There are no proposals to change the facilities offered at inquiry centres.
HMRC will continue to offer a face to face service to those who need it. All inquiry centres are disability discrimination compliant and have a range of special services including induction loops and crystal listening devices for those who are hard of hearing.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what public consultations his Department has undertaken in the last five years on changes to services provided to taxpayers who attend inquiry offices. [30538]
Dawn Primarolo: HMRC has undertaken no such public consultations in the last five years. No changes have been made in that period to the services provided in inquiry centres other than to extend those services to new products (such as tax credits).
Ministerial Travel
Kate Hoey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what the cost was to public funds of his return from Israel on 9 November; [29104]
(2) what was the total cost of his two visits to Israel in the week beginning 7 November. [29105]
Sarah Teather: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the additional cost was to public funds of his return from Israel on 9 November 2005. [30170]
John Healey: I refer the hon. Members to the answer I gave on 15 November 2005.
National Minimum Wage
Margaret Moran: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many companies in Luton have been (a) fined and (b) forced to cease trading for non-compliance with the national minimum wage since it was introduced. [30637]
Dawn Primarolo: The information requested is not available.
Near Cash Resources
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the maximum amount of near cash resources is that (a) Government Departments as a whole and (b) each Government Department can use in 2005–06 drawn from public underspending in financial year 2004–05. [29396]
Mr. Des Browne:
The amount Departments can draw-down and use from underspending in previous years, known as end year flexibility (EYF), is not calculated on the basis of underspending in 2004–05 only but on
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cumulative underspends since the EYF scheme began. Resource EYF stocks carried into 2005–06 by Departments and in total were published in the Public Expenditure Outturn White Paper (PEOWP) 2004–05 (Cm. 6639), copies of which were laid before the House and placed in the Library, Departmental drawdown of end-year flexibility entitlement is scrutinised by HM Treasury for tautness and realism and resulting budgetary limits are agreed and published in supplementary estimates in November and February.
PAC Report (Duchies of Cornwall and Lancaster)
Andrew George: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) when he expects to reply to the Public Accounts Committee Report, The Accounts of the Duchies of Cornwall and Lancaster", published on 28 July; [30088]
(2) what assessment he has made of the Public Accounts Committee Report, The Accounts of the Duchies of Cornwall and Lancaster", which was published on 28 July; and if he will seek to vary the method of accountability which applies to the Duchies. [30165]
John Healey: The Treasury Minute dated 7 November 2005 on the Nineteenth Report from the Committee of Public Accounts, Session 2004–05 (Cm 6682), gave the Government's response to the recommendations made direct to HM Treasury. The opportunity was also taken to publish the Duchies of Cornwall and Lancaster's responses to the recommendations made direct to them, within the same document as the Treasury Minute.
Tax Credits
Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer in how many cases where tax credit overpayments have been disputed (a) they have been written off, (b) additional tax credits have been awarded to deal with hardship and (c) have claimants in receipt of additional tax credits due to hardship, also (i) disputed their overpayment and (ii) had it written off in (A) 2003–04, (B) 2004–05 and (C) 2005–06 to date. [23679]
Dawn Primarolo: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) wrote off around 150,000 disputed overpayment requests up to 30 September 2005.
For numbers of additional tax credits payments I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave my right hon. Friend the Member for Birkenhead (Mr. Field) on 8 November 2005, Official Report, column 331W. HMRC does not hold information on the number of additional tax credits payments made to claimants who have disputed an overpayment or subsequently go on to dispute an overpayment.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether new members of staff in tax credit call centres have given advice to helpline callers before beginning training. [25247]
Dawn Primarolo:
All new members of staff in the tax credit call centres receive the required training before giving advice to helpline callers. This training covers information on tax credits, relating to eligibility, entitlement, claiming and payment. In addition the training covers use of the computer system used within
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tax credits and also teaches them call handling skills/techniques. No adviser is able to give advice to a member of the public until this training has been completed.
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will allow overpayments through the tax credit system to be repaid to the Exchequer in one lump sum rather than in instalments. [29159]
Dawn Primarolo: I refer to the reply to the right hon. Member for Birkenhead (Mr. Field) on 20 January 2005, Official Report, columns 1103–04W.
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will recommence interrupted payments in respect of tax credit case no. JA 24 43 02 C (2005/09 012378); and if he will cease sending letters demanding repayment of sums allegedly overpaid. [29315]
Dawn Primarolo [holding answer 17 November 2005]: HM Revenue and Customs is statutorily debarred from disclosing information relating to the tax credits affairs of individuals. I have asked the Tax Credit Office to write to the hon. Gentleman about his constituent's case.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many awards of tax credits have been wrongly made to people subject to immigration control in (a) 2003–04, (b) 2004–05 and (c) 2005–06 to date; and what the estimated value is of these overpayments. [29707]
Dawn Primarolo: This information is not available except at disproportionate costs.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer in how many tax credit cases from 2003–04 an overpayment was identified where there was no ongoing award. [30007]
Dawn Primarolo: The information requested can be found in table 2 of 'Child and Working Tax Credits Statistics—Supplement on Payments in 2003–04'. The publication can be found on the HMRC website from the following link: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-quarterly-stats.htm.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many child tax credit awards ended in 2003–04 because (a) a couple split up and the joint award ended and (b) a household went from being a lone parent to a couple household. [30010]
Dawn Primarolo: The information requested is not available and can be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.
Vera Baird: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many working tax credit overpayments have resulted in weekly repayments in excess of £50 in Redcar and Cleveland in the last 12 months. [30430]
Dawn Primarolo: The information requested is not available.
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many tax credit underpayments resulted from an error in which a child or children were no longer shown on an award notice. [30679]
Dawn Primarolo:
This information is not available.
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