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Child Poverty

Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his estimate is of the increases in (a) child tax credit and (b) child benefit which would be necessary to lift one million more children out of relative poverty; and if he will make a statement. [63256]

Dawn Primarolo: Between the mid 1970s and mid 1990s, relative child poverty more than doubled. This Government have committed to halve child poverty by 2010–11 and to eradicate it by 2020. In 2004–05 there were 700,000 children fewer children in relative poverty than in 1998–99.

It is possible to model the immediate effects of changes to the rates of Child Benefit or Child Tax Credit on the level of children in poverty but this will always involve considerable uncertainty and is sensitive to factors such as the precise definition of household income, income equivalisation scales and other modelling choices. Furthermore, future projections involve even greater uncertainties, including future income growth, changes in the income distribution and individual changes in behaviour in response to policy changes. However, an increase of £15 per week in all rates of Child Benefit would have lifted around 1 million children before housing costs (BHC), or 1.4 million children after housing costs (AHC), out of poverty in 2005–06. On the same basis, an increase of £14 per week in the child element of the Child Tax Credit would have lifted around 1 million children (BHC), or 1.4 million children (AHC), out of poverty. The increase in Child Benefit would have cost around £10 billion in 2005–06, while the increase in the Child Tax Credit would have cost around £5 billion.

The Government will continue to take forward a multi-faceted strategy to tackle child poverty, as set out in the Child Poverty Review". This is based on financial support for families, work for those who can, tackling material deprivation and improving life chances for poor children.

Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his latest estimate is of (a) the cost of raising child benefit to £20 for each child aged under five years and (b) how many children would be lifted out of poverty as a result; and if he will make a statement. [63313]

Dawn Primarolo: The cost of raising Child Benefit (CB) to £20 per week for each child under five years would be approximately £1 billion for 2006–07.

It is estimated that this increased rate of CB for children under five would lift between 100 and 200 thousand children out of relative income poverty. Such estimates are sensitive to the precise definition of household income, income equalisation scale and other modelling choices.
 
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Child Trust Funds

Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his latest estimate is of the cost of the Child Trust Fund in each year from 2005–06 to 2015–16; and if he will make a statement. [63311]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: The AME accruals cost to the Exchequer of the Child Trust Fund is forecast at £240 million each year, rising to £480 million each year once further payments into Child Trust Fund accounts at age 7 are fully on stream by 2011–12.

Climate Change Levy

Gregory Barker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of reductions in carbon dioxide planned by the Government to meet the 2010 target the Climate Change Levy was intended to deliver. [62580]

John Healey: Independent evaluation by Cambridge Econometrics estimates that the Climate Change Levy will deliver annual savings of over 3.5 million tonnes of carbon (MtC) by 2010—well above the 2 MtC a year figure forecast at the time of its introduction.

Gregory Barker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received on the Government's plans to use the Climate Change Levy to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. [62581]

John Healey: The Government receive many representations as part of the budget process and consider these carefully in that context. The Budget announced that rates of CCL will increase in line with current inflation. The inflation increase will be introduced on 1 April 2007.

Paul Flynn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the arrangements to return the revenue from the increase in the climate change levy directly to business will result in any loss of revenue to the National Insurance Fund. [63344]

John Healey: The Government are committed to returning CCL revenue to business. The 0.3 percentage point reduction in national insurance contributions (NICs), brought in when CCL was introduced, will continue and the Government will discuss with business the most effective way of supporting investment in energy efficiency.

Community Projects

Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his announcement in the Budget of a new venture between police, football clubs and community groups, what funds he is making available in Wales for that purpose. [62703]

Mr. Des Browne: The Welsh Assembly Government received Barnett formula consequentials of the public spending measures announced in the Chancellor's Budget Statement in the normal way. The Welsh Assembly Government is funded on a block budget basis and it is for the Welsh Assembly to decide how to allocate its block budget.
 
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Correspondence

Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will provide a substantive reply to question 58890 tabled by the hon. Member for the Isle of Wight on 13 March 2006 on tax credits. [62649]

Dawn Primarolo: Question 58890 was answered on 30 March 2006, Official Report, column 1117W.

Credit Overpayments

Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will publish the figures for credit overpayments in 2004–05; and if he will make a statement. [63039]

Dawn Primarolo: Estimates of the numbers and levels of overpayments for 2004–05 tax credit awards will be published on 31 May 2006.

Defence Spending

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the level of defence spending was for (a) the UK and (b) each of the other members of the EU in each of the last two years for which figures are available; and what those figures represent as a percentage of gross domestic product. [63061]

Mr. Des Browne: Expenditure on Defence, both in total and as a percentage of Gross domestic product, is published in Public Expenditure Statistical Analysis 2005.

The Treasury does not compile data on the defence expenditure of other EU member countries

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the defence spending of the UK and other EU member states is discussed at meetings of EU finance ministers. [63254]

Mr. Des Browne: Defence Spending, as an exclusive competence of the member states, is not discussed at meetings of the ECOFIN Council.

Departmental Equipment

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Chipping Barnet (Mrs. Villiers) of 16 January 2006, Official Report, column 1157W, on departmental equipment (1) when his Department last made an assessment of value for money for the procurement of its mobile telephones and associated services; what figures were used in the assessment as an indicator of the cost to the Department of these services; and if he will make a statement; [57189]

(2) how his Department ensures compliance with best value practice for the procurement of mobile telephones and associated services; and if he will make a statement. [57190]

John Healey: The Treasury subscribes to a framework contract managed by OGC buying solutions for its mobile telephones and associated services. OGC buying
 
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solutions provide a dedicated procurement service that establishes such contracts and makes them available to central Government and the wider public sector.

Using the OGC buying solutions contract for mobile telephones and associated services allows the Treasury to minimise its own management costs, benefit from aggregated purchasing, and ensure that it is achieving value for money consistent with other Government Departments.

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