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Small Businesses

Mr. Andrew Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps the Office of Government Commerce has taken to promote public procurement from small businesses. [58319]

John Healey: Policy responsibility for supporting the success of small firms sits with the Department of Trade and Industry. OGC provides support where public procurement is being used as a lever to achieve this objective.
 
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OGC led a successful pilot project between June 2003 and June 2004 concerned with lowering the barriers facing small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) wanting to access the Government market. Over 500 SMEs and 17 partner organizations from central and local government were engaged in the project.

OGC has developed a standard, simplified pre-qualification document specifically for use in small procurements. It has also delivered training for procurers across the country, focusing on the benefits of incorporating SMEs effectively into a diverse supplier base. To date over 800 procurers have been trained.

OGC has developed guidance on supply chain management and is working with key suppliers and procurers to ensure that opportunities for SMEs are visible and accessible. It has also worked with the Small Business Service to procure a web-based national opportunities portal on which wider public sector procurers can advertise opportunities. The portal is due to go live in spring 2006. Buyers will be able to publicise their lower-value contracts free of charge, and suppliers will have access to a directory of local and lower-value contract notices (also free of charge in their local area), and be able to advertise their services directly to public sector buyers.

OGC and the Small Business Service have produced 'Smaller Supplier Better Value' to outline the benefits of dealing with small firms, some of the challenges they face, and what public sector procurement staff can do to help.

Tax Credits

Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many calls were categorised as (a) received, (b) handled by and (c) engaged or busy for the tax credits helpline in (i) August and (ii) September; and if he will make a statement; [20440]

(2) how many telephone calls (a) were received, (b) were handled and (c) received an engaged tone on the tax credits helpline in (i) August and (ii) September; and if he will make a statement. [24542]

Dawn Primarolo: The tax credits helpline is open 8 am to 8 pm 362 days a year.

The following table below gives a month by month breakdown since January 2005:
Thousand

	Received(30)	Handled(31)	Engaged and busy(32)
2005
January	1,694	1,627	199
February	1,529	1,471	256
March	1,554	1,504	103
April	1,962	1,842	652
May	2,051	1,940	350
June	2,164	2,043	327
July	1,989	1,896	301
August	2,474	2,290	618
September	2,921	2,649	1,315
October	1,668	1,601	181
November	1,588	1,523	130
December	1,306	1,271	65
2006
January	1,825	1,771	180

⁽³⁰⁾ Where the caller selected an option from the call steering menu and was put in a queue to speak to an adviser.
⁽³¹⁾ Where the caller spoke to an adviser.
⁽³²⁾ Call attempts where the caller was played an engaged tone or busy message, before they were placed in a queue to speak to an adviser



 
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Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what data is transferred between the tax credits systems and the PAYE system; and what controls there are over the transfer of data between systems to ensure that the accuracy of data held on both systems is maintained. [50601]

Dawn Primarolo: Data are not directly transferred between the tax credits system and the PAYE system. Claimant designatory information such as name and address and information about employments is stored on discrete databases which those systems can access and update in accordance with specific sets of rules.

Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what management information can be extracted from the tax credit system about (a) the number of bank accounts used for the receipt of tax credit payments and (b) the country in which the bank account is based. [51456]

Dawn Primarolo: The vast majority of claimants have their tax credits paid directly into a bank account, but a precise figure could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

HMRC only makes tax credit payments into valid UK bank accounts.

Lorely Burt: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress has been made towards reopening the tax credits e-portal; and if he will make a statement. [54866]

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Lady to my answer of 31 January 2006, Official Report, column 411W, to the hon. Member for Bury St. Edmunds (Mr. Ruffley).

Mr. Kenneth Clarke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of households with at least one member in paid employment qualify for a tax credit; and what the equivalent figures were in each of the last three years. [57284]

Dawn Primarolo: Based on work carried out on take-up of child tax credit and working tax credit for 2003–04, and the Family Resources Survey, which provides information on a sample of families (both with and without children) in the UK, approximately 37 per cent. of families in the UK with at least one person working more than 16 hours a week were entitled to tax credits in 2003–04. Estimates for previous years are not available.

Tax credit take-up rates for 2003–04 are published in Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit Take-up Rates: 2003–04". This publication is available at: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/takeup_rates_2003–04_mar06.pdf.
 
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For working tax credits HMRC defines in work" as working more than 30 hours a week, or more than 16 hours a week for families with children or where at least one of the adults working more than 16 hours a week is disabled.

Families with dependent children are not required to be in work in order to meet eligibility criteria of child tax credit.

John Hemming: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer in each financial year since its inception how many people the tax credits computer system has recorded as deceased who were still living. [58317]

Dawn Primarolo: This information is not available.

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was spent on each element of the (a) working tax credit and (b) child tax credit in each (i) country and (ii) region in each of the last five years. [58333]

Dawn Primarolo: The information requested is not available.

Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many claims for tax credits were received over the internet in each month from April 2003 to December 2005; and if he will make a statement. [45680]

Dawn Primarolo: Figures for the number of claims made through the tax credits e-portal is shown in the following table.
Thousand

	2003	2004	2005
January	—	30	44
February	—	32	38
March	—	30	38
April	48	30	47
May	110	47	48
June	81	41	47
July	82	40	39
August	25	40	55
September	29	66	68
October	29	59	71
November	31	54	105
December	18	51	7

Taxes (Migrants)

Michael Gove: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate how long on average a migrant into the UK has to be resident before they pay back in taxes the amount they have received in welfare. [57358]

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister of State for Immigration and Ctizenship to the hon. Member for Buckingham (Mr. Bercow), on 24 October 2005, Official Report, column 42W.

Migrants are not a homogeneous group and come to the UK for different purposes. Different groups of migrants have different entitlements to benefits and many migrants (e.g. those on work-based schemes) are net fiscal contributors from the outset of their time in the UK.
 
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