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28 Nov 2005 : Column 79W—continued
Mortgage Loans
John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average new mortgage loan was in (a) the UK and (b) East Midlands in each of the last five years. [32310]
Mr. Ivan Lewis:
The average value of loans for house purchases are available on the Office for the Deputy Prime Minister' website, and are reproduced as follows.
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| UK | East Midlands | |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 70,606 | 57,839 |
| 2001 | 76,258 | 61,005 |
| 2002 | 84,489 | 71,074 |
| 2003 | 98,254 | 84,913 |
| 2004 | 109,920 | 95,459 |
Source:
ODPM and Survey of Mortgage Lenders
National Debt
Mike Penning: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the size is of the national debt; and what the cost of servicing it was in the last period for which figures are available. [32191]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Outturn figures for public sector net debt and the cost of servicing debt are available on the Office for National Statistics website: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/psf1105.pdf and http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Expodata/Spreadsheets/D8885.xls (Series ANLO).
Red Diesel (Derogation)
Bob Spink: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to ask the European Union for an extension of the current derogation allowing the use of red diesel for leisure purposes; what (a) representations he has received and (b) discussions he has held on the extension; if he will list the bodies he will be consulting on the extension; and when the consultation will commence. [31260]
John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to what I said on the Floor of the House on 26 May 2005, Official Report, column 865W.
We have received a number of representations on this subject and officials from HM Revenue and Customs have discussed the issues concerning the expiry of the derogation with a number of stakeholders including the Royal Yachting Association and the British Marine Federation. These discussions have been very helpful and are continuing.
Stamp Duty Land Tax
Mrs. Moon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of stamp duty land tax returns were not processed in 2004–05 resulting in fines being levied, broken down by region. [31925]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The following table lists the number of land transaction returns received by the Rapid Data Capture Centre at Netherton between April and October 2005 and the number which were returned to sender without being processed as the form omitted basic details. A regional breakdown is not available.
28 Nov 2005 : Column 81W
Under stamp duty land tax an automatic penalty will be imposed if a completed land transaction return and payment of the tax due are not received until after 30 days from the effective date of the transaction.
In addition there are returns which are not returned to sender but which cannot be processed without further information being supplied. Such returns, if the original return is delivered on time, do not result in the imposition of a penalty if the information requested is supplied after the filing date.
Stamp Office
Mrs. Moon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many calls were made to the Stamp Office inquiryline in the last period for which figures are available, broken down by (a) region and (b) reasons for call. [31924]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: A table giving a quarterly breakdown of the number of calls taken on the stamp taxes inquiry line since 1 December 2003 is included in an answer I gave to the hon. Member for Portsmouth, South (Mr.Hancock) on 10 October 2005 at column 318W. Detailed analysis of regional origins of, and reasons for, these calls is not available.
Mrs. Moon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the efficiency of the Data Process Unit at the Stamp Office; and if he will make a statement. [31926]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr (Adam Price) on 17 October 2005, Official Report, column 722W.
Tax Credits
Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many full-time equivalent staff have worked (a) in the tax credit office and (b) on the tax credit helpline in each of the last 12 months; [18641]
(2) how many staff have been employed on the tax credit helplines in each month since April 2003; and if he will make a statement. [19292]
Dawn Primarolo: The information requested is as follows:
(a) The number of full-time equivalent (FTE) staff employed in the TCO over the last 12 months is around that shown in the following table:
| Staff numbers(49) | |
|---|---|
| 2004 | |
| September | 2,500 |
| October | 2,400 |
| November | 2,200 |
| December | 2,200 |
| 2005 | |
| January | 2,200 |
| February | 2,300 |
| March | 2,400 |
| April | 2,400 |
| May | 2,500 |
| June | 2400 |
| July | 2,300 |
| August | 2,300 |
(49)Full-time equivalent.
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(b) The number of FTE staff employed to work on the dedicated tax credit helpline in each of the last 12 months is detailed in the following table. In addition, HMRC can use another 1,150 FTE staff to answer tax credits calls at peak times.
The number of full time equivalent staff employed on tax credits helplines in each month since April 2003 is detailed in the following table. In addition, HMRC can use another 1,150 staff (FTEs) to answer tax credits calls at peak times.
(50)Full-time equivalent.
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many complaints he has received regarding miscalculated tax credit sums; how many people have had to pay back money after their tax credits were miscalculated; how much money has been overpaid as a result of problems with the tax credits system; and how much overpaid money from tax credit miscalculations (a) has been recovered and (b) remains to be recovered. [23212]
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Dawn Primarolo: HM Revenue and Customs does not hold information on the number of complaints received or the value of overpayments that specifically relate to the miscalculation of tax credits awards.
For the value of overpayments, I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given to the hon. Member for St. Albans (Anne Main) on 13 October 2005, Official Report, column 428.
The Department's Code of Practice 26, What happens if we have paid you too much tax credit?" describes their approach to overpayments and is available on the internet at: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/leaflets/cop26.pdf
Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recommendations have been made by HM Revenue and Customs Internal Audit in relation to the gathering of information on the possible targeting of tax credits by organised criminals; and if he will make a statement. [24587]
Dawn Primarolo: It would be inappropriate to disclose information about measures to counter tax credit fraud, as this would prejudice HMRC's ability to prevent or detect crime, recover fraudulently claimed tax credits and prosecute those involved.
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost of paying tax credit was as a percentage of each pound of tax credit paid in each year since 1999; and what the capital costs of administration of working tax and child tax credits have been to date. [26815]
Dawn Primarolo: The following table shows the cost of paying tax credit as a percentage of each pound of tax credit, which can be found in table 1 of the Annual Report and Accounts 2004–05.
| Percentage | |
|---|---|
| 1999–2000 | 3.29 |
| 2000–01 | 2.94 |
| 2001–02 | 2.53 |
| 2002–03 | (51)2.21 |
| 2003–04 | 2.96 |
(51)Excludes costs of preparing for child and working tax credits, if these are included the ratio is 4.58 pence per pound paid.
Note:
A figure for total tax credits payments in 2004–05 and the cost of managing and paying tax credits can be found in note 3.
Department for Work and Pensions' figures show the cost of managing and paying family credit was £66 million in 1996–97, £59 million in 1997–98 and £72 million in 1998–99. In these three years total expenditure on family credit was: £2,084 million, £2,326 million and £2,429 million. These figures imply that the cost per £ paid of administering family credit was broadly in line with that for tax credits at about 3pence.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families have been contacted as part of the Inland Revenue's tax credit outreach programme; how many awards have been adjusted in-year as a result of contact; and when the next wave of contacts will begin. [30006]
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Dawn Primarolo: HM Revenue and Customs are undertaking a long-term pilot to identify the most successful ways of encouraging customers to keep their records up to date. The pilot aims to contact 15,000 customers in writing and 15,000 customers by telephone on three separate occasions between July 2005 and February 2006.
The first two waves of contact are now complete and the third is due to start in late January/early February 2006.
Information from analysis of the first wave, which took place in July 2005, shows that HMRC contacted 15,000 people in writing and around 7,500 by telephone. HMRC found that, as a result, around 1,200 additional families notified a change of circumstances that led to a change in their entitlement.
Analysis of the second wave will be completed in January 2006 and a further report, following the third wave, is due in April/May 2006. A final analysis will take place after the renewals cycle for 2005–06 awards is complete.
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