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8 Mar 2007 : Column 2219W—continued
Tax (Electronic Submissions)
Dr. Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what (a) payments to Capgemini and (b) total costs were spent by HM Revenue and Customs on electronic filing of pay-as-you-earn end of year submissions for the year ended 5 April 2005; and if he will make a statement. [111112]
Dawn Primarolo: £25 million was paid to Capgemini as part of the IT project to enable end of year PAYE filing from April 2005.
This amount is included in the total costs of £93.7 million that HMRC incurred to enable employers to file employer annual returns for the year ended 5 April 2005 online.
Tax Allowances: Widowed People
Mr. David Anderson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much tax revenue was collected from persons to whom the widowed persons tax allowance was applicable in the latest period for which figures are available. [125959]
Dawn Primarolo: Widow’s bereavement allowance was the only income tax allowance available for widows and was available for deaths occurring before 6 April 2000. It was available in the year of the husband’s death and the following year.
Around 150,000 widows were eligible for widow’s bereavement allowance in 1999-2000 of which 100,000 benefited from a reduction in their income tax liability, the remainder paid no income tax. This represented a reduction of around £20 million of income tax, resulting in total income tax liability of £175 million for widows in receipt of widow’s bereavement allowance.
These estimates are based on the Survey of Personal Incomes for 1999-2000 which was the final year widow’s bereavement allowance was available in full.
Tax Credits Act 1999
Tony Baldry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the (a) one-off and (b) recurring costs of implementing the Tax Credits Act 1999 and Accompanying Regulations (Working Families Tax Credit) to (i) businesses and (ii) the regulators. [125596]
Dawn Primarolo: The then Inland Revenue estimated these costs in the regulatory impact assessment published in December 1999. This can be accessed at:
www.hmrc.gov.uk/ria/ria-formerir.htm.
Taxation: Domicile
John McDonnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what assessment he has made of the compatibility of HM Revenue and Customs’ policy in relation to domicile and non-domicile tax status with the Race Relations Act 1976; [125822]
(2) what legal advice HM Revenue and Customs received on domicile and non-domicile tax status and race discrimination laws in each of the last four years; [125823]
(3) what plans he has to review domicile and non-domicile tax status; [125824]
(4) how many UK citizens have non-domicile tax status; and how many investigations HM Revenue and Customs undertook into the tax returns of those with non-domicile tax status in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available; [125825]
(5) how much tax he estimates was avoided by those declaring themselves non-domiciled in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [125826]
Dawn Primarolo: We consider that policy in relation to domicile and non-domicile tax status is compatible with the Race Relations Act 1976. All Acts of Parliament are subject to compatibility tests under the provisions of the Human Rights Act 1998, which considers issues of discrimination in their widest context.
HM Treasury is leading the on-going review of residence and domicile as these affect the tax liability of individuals.
No information is available on the number of UK citizens with non-domicile tax status or on the number of investigations undertaken by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) into the tax returns of those with non-domicile tax status. Overall, approximately 110,000 individuals claimed non-domicile tax status through self assessment tax returns in the year 2004-05.
No estimates of potential UK tax liability are available. In general, individuals do not have to inform HMRC of their foreign income or gains unless this is relevant to their UK tax liability.
Teenage Pregnancy: Greater London
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of 27 February 2007, Official Report, column 1314W, on teenage pregnancy; Greater London, when the chief statistician expects to have the final figures for 2005. [125771]
John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 8 March 2007:
As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking when Greater London teenage pregnancy figures for 2005 will be released. (125771)
Final figures for 2005 will be available towards the end of 2007. At the moment, there is no set date for their release.
Teenage Pregnancy: Lancashire
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many teenage pregnancies there were in Lancashire in each of the last 10 years, broken down into (a) under 16-year-olds and (b) over 16-year-olds. [125236]
John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 8 March 2007:
The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many teenage pregnancies there were in Lancashire in each of the last 10 years, broken down into (a) under 16-year-olds and (b) over 16-year-olds. I am replying in her absence. (125236)
Available figures are estimates of the number of pregnancies that resulted in a live birth, stillbirth or termination.
Number of conceptions to women aged under 16 and over 16 in Lancashire for the years 1996-2005 (the most recent year for which figures are available), are shown in the attached table. Figures for 2005 are provisional.
| Number of conceptions to women aged under 16 and over 16 in Lancashire, 1996-2005 | ||
| Conceptions to women aged under 16 | Conceptions to women aged over 16 | |
| (1) 2005 conceptions are provisional. | ||
Tobacco: Smuggling
Mr. Paul Goodman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he plans to publish HM Revenue and Customs’ recommendations to his Department on anti-smuggling and counterfeiting measures in relation to tobacco; when his Department will respond to the recommendations; and if he will make a statement. [126188]
John Healey: Any statement on anti-smuggling and counterfeiting measures will be made as part of the Budget process.
Treasury Board
Mr. Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what the (a) date, (b) cost, (c) location and (d) programme was of the Treasury Board’s two most recent away days; [125734]
(2) who is responsible for appointments to the Treasury Board; and how regularly the Board meets; [125735]
(3) if he will place in the Library copies of the minutes of the last four meetings of the Treasury Board; [125773]
(4) when Michael Ellam was appointed to the Treasury Board. [125774]
John Healey: I refer the hon. Gentlemen to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Fareham (Mr. Hoban) on 18 October 2006, Official Report, columns 1252-53W.
The permanent secretary is responsible for appointments to the Treasury Board, which are made in accordance with Cabinet Office guidance. Michael Ellam became a full member of the Treasury Board in September 2005.
The Treasury Board meets six times a year. Summaries of Treasury Board activities are available on the Treasury’s public website at:
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/about/about_treasury_board.cfm.
VAT: Fuels
Mr. Mark Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much revenue was raised from duty and VAT on private passenger automobile fuel in the most recent year for which information is available. [124625]
John Healey: The precise figures requested are not available. However, relevant data are available from following sources:
Total petrol and diesel receipts and quantities consumed are published in the Hydrocarbon Oils bulletin. This can be found at:
http://www.uktradeinfo.com/index.cfm?task=bullhydro
The DTI publish data on fuel prices in their quarterly energy prices bulletin. This can be found at:
http://www.dtistats.net/energystats/gep411.xls
VAT on main road fuel is 17.5 per cent.
The most recent financial year for which data are available is 2005-06.
Mr. Mark Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much revenue was raised from duty and VAT on fuel and electricity supplied to (a) rail operators and (b) commercial bus operators in the most recent year for which information is available. [124626]
John Healey: The precise figures requested are not available. However, relevant data is available from the following sources:
The DTI publish information of end users of fuel, including rail, in the Digest of UK Energy Statistics (DUKES). This is available from http://www.dti.gov.uk/energy/statistics/publications/dukes/page29812.html Rail operators use gas oil.
HMRC publish fuel duty rates and details of duty receipts in the Hydrocarbon Oils bulletin, available from http://www.uktradeinfo.com/index.cfm?task=bullhydro No duty is charged on electricity.
Supplies of passenger transport made by rail operators are zero-rated for VAT purposes and they are able to reclaim any VAT on costs incurred in making these supplies, including fuel.
The supply of domestic rail freight in the UK is normally standard-rated, however where the supply relates to the transport of goods to/from a place of export/import from/into the EU, this supply can be zero-rated. Suppliers would be entitled to recover any VAT incurred in making these supplies whether they were standard or zero-rated.
Supplies of passenger transport made by commercial bus companies are also zero-rated for VAT purposes and they are similarly able to reclaim any VAT on costs incurred in making these supplies, including fuel.
Welfare Tax Credits: Overpayments
Natascha Engel: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on how many occasions HM Revenue and Customs has used its discretion not to recover tax credit overpayments from claimants. [125357]
Dawn Primarolo: HM Revenue and Customs policy on tax credit overpayments is set out in their code of practice 26 “What happens if we have paid you too much tax credit?” HMRC will write off an overpayment of tax credits if they have made a mistake and it can be shown that it was reasonable for the claimant to believe that their payments were right.
Over the period April 2006 to the end of January 2007, there have been around 303,000 disputed overpayments. Over the same period, HMRC has written off 8,600.
Education and Skills
Adult Education
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the December 2006 report of the Learning and Skills Council on learner numbers in (a) further education, (b) adult community learning and (c) work-based learning. [123584]
Bill Rammell [holding answer 26 February 2007]: Between 1997-98 and 2005-06 we increased investment in FE by 48 per cent. in real terms and between 2005-06 and 2007-08 the overall Learning and Skills Council (LSC) budget will increase further from £9.9 billion to £11.2 billion. However, in order to meet the skills challenges that we face, clearly identified by the Leitch Report “Prosperity for all in the Global Economy — world class skills” (December 2006), it is important that we increasingly focus available funding on our priorities.
The figures published on learner numbers in December 2006 illustrate that funding is being allocated to support our priorities of higher participation and achievement for young people, alongside increasing support for adults to achieve the basic and level 2 skills necessary for employment.
We were therefore pleased to see that we have a record number of young people, 744,000 in 2005/06, participating in further education, an increase of 2.3 per cent. compared to 2004/05.
This does not mean we are prioritising young people over adults. Investment in adult education continues to grow and as a result of this strategy, we have more adults than ever successfully completing longer and higher priority courses such as Skills for Life and full level 2 qualifications. The strategy has allowed us to exceed our interim Skills for Life target, set in 2001, of 1.5 million achievements with more than 1.6 million people having gained basic skills qualifications. The significant growth in full level 2 provision also supports our assessment that we will achieve our one million interim milestone for the 2006 adult level 2 target.
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