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Public Sector Bodies' Debt

James Brokenshire: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the level of transparency of the classification of public sector bodies' debt. [62331]

Mr. Des Browne: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave on the Floor of the House earlier today to the hon. Member for Lichfield (Michael Fabricant).
 
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Tax Bulletin 79

Mr. Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what date HM Revenue and Customs published Tax Bulletin 79; and what changes the bulletin made to eligibility for tax relief under section 336 of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003. [62298]

Dawn Primarolo: Tax Bulletin 79 was published on 24 October 2005. It made no changes to an employee's entitlement for tax relief under section 336.

However, it contained an article announcing a relaxation of HMRC's view of the circumstances in which employees can claim tax relief for un-reimbursed home working expenses. It means more employees will be able to claim tax relief for the additional expenses they incur where they have to work from home.

Mr. Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what date HM Revenue and Customs published the guidance in the Employment Income Manual section EIM32760 which was superseded by Tax Bulletin 79. [62299]

Dawn Primarolo: The guidance in the Employment Income Manual section EIM32760 reflects longstanding guidance published in earlier Inland Revenue guidance manuals. It was published in its current format on 29 May 2003 following the introduction of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003.

Tax Credits

Mr. Paul Goodman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the median (a) working tax credit and (b) working families tax credit payment received by (i) lone parent households and (ii) non-lone parent households was in each year for which figures are available. [43764]

Dawn Primarolo: Lone parent and couple families receive the same award where their family income and other circumstances (such as the number of children) are the same. There are a number of factors affecting average awards, including:

couple families tend to have more children, increasing their child tax credit (CTC) award. (The December 2005 tax credit statistics showed that in-work couple families had on average 1.8 children per family compared to 1.5 for in-work lone parents.);

lone parents tend to have lower incomes than couple families, increasing their award. (The statistics show that 27 per cent. of in-work lone parent families have gross incomes below £5,220 compared to 4 per cent. of in-work couple families.); and

lone parents are more likely to benefit from the childcare element of the working tax credit (WTC) designed to help more people move into work. (The statistics show around two-thirds of recipients of the child care element are lone parents, with the remaining third being couple families.)

The median weekly entitlements to WTC and CTC are £109.96 for lone parent families and £96.50 for couples with children, based on finalised 2003–04 awards. The median weekly entitlements for working families tax credit are £88.95 for lone parent families
 
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and £75.59 for couples with children, based on figures for November 2002. Such data for later years are not available.

Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many and what proportion of tax credit claimants received manual payments due to computer system failure in (a) 2003–04, (b) 2004–05 and (c) 2005–06 to date. [60190]

Dawn Primarolo: The information is not available in the format requested.

For the reasons for issuing manual payments I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Yardley (John Hemming) on 10 October 2005, Official Report, column 325W.

HM Revenue and Customs are working hard to improve administration, address technical issues and minimise impact on taxpayers.

Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many tax credit claimants in Lewes constituency are receiving regular manual payments each month due to computer error; and what steps are being taken to ensure that all claimants receive regular automatic payments. [60858]

Mr. Evans: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many tax credit claimants in Ribble Valley constituency are receiving regular manual payments each month due to computer error; and what steps are being taken to ensure that all claimants receive regular automatic payments. [61641]

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Gentlemen to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Fareham (Mr. Hoban) on 13 March 2006, Official Report, columns 1983–84W.

Not all manual payments are required because of computer error. Manual payments of tax credits are made to a very small percentage of claimants; however numbers are not available at constituency level.

Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what his latest estimate is of the costs of organised fraud of the tax credits system in each quarter from Q1 2003 to Q1 2006; and if he will make a statement; [61854]

(2) when he was first informed of organised tax credit fraud; and if he will make a statement. [62172]

Dawn Primarolo: I refer to the answer I gave to the hon. Gentleman on 10 January 2006, Official Report, column 551W.

Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will answer question 48439, tabled by the right hon. Member for Birkenhead on 31 January 2006, on child tax credit. [62024]

Dawn Primarolo: I very much regret not being in a position to answer my right hon. Friend's earlier question. I will do so very shortly and will also write to my right hon. Friend.
 
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Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Exchequer how many penalty payments have been agreed between HM Revenue and Customs and recipients of tax credits following overpayments (a) in total and (b) in each compliance office in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight in the last year for which information is available; and how many involved payments of (i) less than £250, (ii) £250-£499, (iii) £500-£999, (iv) £1,000 and over in respect of overpayments of (A) less than £2,500, (B) £2,500-£4,999, (C) £5,000-£9,999 and (D) £10,000 or more. [58890]

Dawn Primarolo: HMRC does not impose penalties for overpayments. It can and does impose monetary penalties where people deliberately or negligently make incorrect statements.

Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to re-open the tax credits e-portal; and if he will make a statement. [62035]

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Member to my answer to the hon. Member for Bury St. Edmunds (Mr. Ruffley) on 31 January 2006, Official Report, column 441W.

Tonnage Tax Scheme

Gwyn Prosser: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the value was of financial concessions to the UK shipping industry through the tonnage tax scheme in 2004–05. [62513]

John Healey: An initial estimate of the corporation tax foregone in 2004–05 can be found at:

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/tax_expenditures/b1_dec05.xls

Trade Targets (China/India)

Keith Vaz: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent targets he has set for trade with (a) China and (b) India. [62255]

John Healey: As the balance of global economic activity shifts, the UK needs to strengthen its links with China and India to capitalise on the new opportunities that increasing investment flows and trade can offer. The Budget set out a comprehensive package of measures to address this.

Tyler-CLT User Conference

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether representatives from (a) the Valuation Office Agency, (b) HM Treasury and (c) the Valuation Tribunal Service will attend the 2006 Tyler-CLT User conference in Utah, USA in April 2006. [60195]

Dawn Primarolo: No representatives from (a) the Valuation Office Agency (b) HM Treasury nor (c) the Valuation Tribunal Service will be attending the Tyler-CLT conference in Utah, USA in April 2006.

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