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16 Jan 2006 : Column 1173W—continued
Registrar Offices
Mr. Pelling: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the vacancy rates are in registrar offices in Greater London. [41120]
John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Registrar General, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 16 January 2006:
As National Statistician and Registrar General for England and Wales, I have been asked to reply to your recent question concerning the vacancy rates in register offices in Greater London. (41120)
As at 11/1/06 there are 18 principal statutory registration officer posts 1 vacant out of 244 posts in the 33 register offices in Greater London (7.4 per cent.). No information is available on the number of vacancies that might exist in support staff posts (including deputy registration officers, clerical officers, receptionists, security staff, ushers).
1 Principal statutory registration officers are Superintendent Registrars, Registrars of Births and Deaths and Additional Registrars for marriage.
Sustainable Development Action Plan
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what arrangements he has made for the launch of the Treasury Sustainable Development Action Plan; and whether he intends to make an oral statement to the House on the contents of the plan. [41182]
John Healey: The Treasury intend to publish a sustainable development action plan shortly. We plan to publish this on the HM Treasury website.
Taxation
Mr. Paice: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer in what circumstances a taxpayer would be liable to a surcharge for non-payment of a January instalment if the completed forms were received by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) before 30 December but no calculation had been issued by HMRC. [41507]
Dawn Primarolo: A surcharge of 5 per cent. is added to tax payable but still unpaid 28 days after the due date for payment (31 January). A further surcharge of 5 per cent. is added to tax payable but still unpaid six months after the due date. 30 September is the filing deadline for paper self assessment tax returns if the taxpayer wants HMRC to calculate their tax and tell them how much to pay by 31 January of the following year. After 30 September HMRC will still calculate the tax but do not guarantee to do it in time for a calculation to go out to the taxpayer for the payment date of 31 January.
Where self assessment tax returns are filed online the tax is calculated automatically thereby informing the taxpayer how much to pay by 31 January.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his latest estimate is of the share of gross income paid in tax by (a) each income decile and (b) each major household type in each year from 1996–97 to 2005–06, broken down by each major tax; and if he will make a statement. [41398]
Dawn Primarolo: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 16 January 2006:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking for the lastest estimate of the share of gross income paid in tax by (a) each income decile and (b) each major household type, in each year from 1996–97 to 2005–06, broken down by each major tax. (41398)
Estimates of the share of gross household income which is paid in tax are based on the Office for National Statistics analyses 'The effects of taxes and benefits on household income' which is published annually. The latest analysis for 2003–04 was published on the National Statistics website on 7th July 2005 at http://www.statistics.gov.uk/taxesbenefits. These analyses include measures of income inequality for households in the United Kingdom based on data from the Expenditure and Food Survey (the Family Expenditure Survey before 2001–02). This is a sample survey covering approximately 6,000 to 7,000 households in the UK. Estimates are currently available only up to 2003–04. The analysis for 2004–05 is due to be published on the National Statistics website in April 2006.
The samples on which the estimates are based are only sufficient to allow a breakdown to be given by quintile for the ratio of taxes to gross income, and not by decile. In addition it should be remembered that the annual analyses from which the figures are drawn are not designed primarily for direct comparison over time, and there have been some changes in methodology and definitions.
I am placing in the House of Commons Library, tables showing taxes as a proportion of gross income for each income quintile where households an non-retired households in the UK. The disposable income quintile point boundaries have been calculated separately for the retired and non retired households. For example, the 1st quintile point for the retired households is the income below which one fifth of all retired households are estimated to lie and similarly for all households and non-retired households.
A retired household in the analyses is defined as one where the combined income of 'retired' members amounts to at least half the total gross income of the household. A 'retired' person is defined as some one over minimum NI pension age who is 'unoccupied' or 'sick or injured but not intending to seek work,' or who describes themselves as 'retired.'
Estimates of indirect taxes are imputed based on household expenditure. When comparing the incidence of indirect taxes on households at different levels of income, it should be remembered that measured expenditure will not necessarily balance with measured income for the year. On average measured expenditure exceeds measured income for households in the lower half of the distribution. There are a number of possible explanations for this. Some households with low incomes may draw on their savings or borrow in order to finance their expenditure. In addition, the lower decile in particular includes some groups, who have, or report, very little income (for example, self-employed people starting a business or someone who has just been made redundant). In these cases, expenditure is not being met from current income. Some types of receipts are not included as income in the EFS e.g. inheritance and severance payments. In some cases, the information given on expenditure is not consistent with that on income received because of timing differences.
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average earnings of full-time employees in the constituency of Ruislip-Northwood were in April in each year since 2000. [41043]
John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 16 January 2006:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question to ask what the average earnings of full time employees in the constituency of Ruislip-Northwood are in April of each year since 2000 (41043)
Currently average earnings are estimated from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), and are provided for full time employees on adult rates whose pay for the survey period was not affected by absence. This is the standard definition used for ASHE. The ASHE does not collect data on the self employed and people who do unpaid work.
I attach a table showing the Average Gross Weekly Earnings for full time employees by parliamentary constituency by place of work from 2000 to 2005. These statistics are also available on the National Statistics website at: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=13101
16 Jan 2006 : Column 1176W
The ASHE, carried out in April of each year, is the most comprehensive source of earnings information in the United Kingdom. It is a one per cent sample of all employees who are members of pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) schemes.
(117) Employees on adult rates whose pay for the survey pay-period was not affected by absence.
(118) CV>5% and <=10%
(119) CV>10% and <=20%
(120) 2004 including supplementary surveys designed to improve the coverage of ASHE.
Notes:
Guide to quality:
1. The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of a figure, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality.
2. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV e.g. for an average of 200 with a CV of 5%, we would expect the population average to be within the range 190 to 210.
Source:
Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Office for National Statistics
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much revenue was raised from personal taxation in the constituency of Ruislip-Northwood in (a) 1997 and (b) the last financial year for which figures are available. [41044]
John Healey: Estimates of total income tax revenue at constituency level are unavailable. Published information on the number of taxpayers and their mean and median total income by constituency, can be found in table 3.15 Total Income by Parliamentary Constituency" on the HM Revenue and Customs internet website http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/income_distribution/3_15_nov05.xls.
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