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27 Mar 2007 : Column 1513W—continued

Taxation: Small Businesses

Mr. Andrew Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of business taxation was paid by small businesses in the last period for which figures are available. [129367]

John Healey: The proportion of corporation tax paid by small companies in 2004-05 was 23 per cent.

It is not possible to apportion other tax receipts between business taxpayers and others, or between business taxpayers of different sizes. This is due to a number of taxes (for example fuel duty) being paid by both businesses and individuals, and because markets adjust to shift the incidence of taxation throughout the economy.

Figures on total receipts from individual taxes are available in tables 2.1A to 2.1E in Financial Statistics published by the Office for National Statistics.

Valuation Office: Manpower

Michael Gove: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many full-time equivalent staff were employed by the Valuation Office Agency in each year since 2000. [129104]

Dawn Primarolo: The numbers of full-time equivalent staff employed by the agency as at the end of March each year are shown in the following table.

Number

2000

3,803

2001

3,771

2002

3,740

2003

4,000

2004

3,803

2005

4,812

2006

4,850

2007(1)

4,326

1 As at 1 March

Welfare Tax Credits

Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many times Tax Credit Office staff reported technical problems with the computer system in each month since January 2006. [124272]

Dawn Primarolo: This information is not available.

Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many manual tax credit payments have been made since April 2003; how many claimants have received
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such payments; and what proportion of all (a) payments and (b) claimants these represent. [126512]

Dawn Primarolo: Around 1.6 million tax credits payments were made manually from April 2003 to January 2007 inclusive. This represents around one quarter of one per cent. of all payments made since April 2003. Information is not available on the number of claimants who have received manual payments in the same period.

Around 34,500 households are currently receiving manual payments representing around 0.5 per cent. of households currently benefiting from tax credits.

Welfare Tax Credits: EC Accession

Jim Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what checks are made on claims for child tax credit by citizens of (a) Poland, (b) Slovakia, (c) Lithuania, (d) Estonia and (e) Latvia resident in the UK; [127702]

(2) how many citizens of (a) Poland, (b) Slovakia, (c) Latvia, (d) Lithuania and (e) Estonia are claiming (i) child tax credit and (ii) working tax credit in the UK; [127703]

(3) how many citizens of (a) Poland, (b) Slovakia, (c) Lithuania, (d) Latvia and (e) Estonia are claiming child benefit in the UK; [127704]

(4) what checks are made on claims for child benefit from citizens of (a) Poland, (b) Slovakia, (c) Latvia, (d) Lithuania and (e) Estonia. [127705]

Dawn Primarolo [holding answer 20 March 2007]: The detailed breakdown requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, the last Accession monitoring report, published on 27 February 2007 on the Home Office immigration and nationality directorate's website, http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/aboutus/reports/accession_monitoring_report, provides detailed information including the total number of workers from the new member states of the EU who have made a claim for child benefit and tax credits.

All claims for tax credits and child benefit are subject to a wide range of checks throughout the life of each claim. It would be inappropriate to disclose a complete list of checks as to do so may provide assistance to those attempting to defraud the system.

Welfare Tax Credits: ICT

Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many service credits he has made Capgemini liable for in each month since they took over the tax credit IT system; what the value is of these credits; and how many hours of online service disruption there have been to the system. [126509]

Dawn Primarolo: Under the terms of the Aspire contract, service credits are administered on a quarterly basis. The Aspire contract is the contract by which information technology is provided to the Inland Revenue and its successor department, HMRC.

Capgemini assumed responsibility for the management of the Aspire contract in June 2004. The
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following table shows all service credits and their value since Capgemini took over the contract.

The amounts represent a very small proportion of the annual cost of the Aspire contract and are commensurate with the low-level technological problems that are typically experienced in a service delivery of this size, complexity and value.

It is very difficult to make comparisons with other public IT contracts where details are available due to widely differing approaches in the use of service credits and liquidated damages.

The Aspire service credit figures are proportionately larger than Capgemini experience in their other outsourcing work in the UK, reflecting the tougher contractual conditions in a second generation outsourcing contract.

Quarter Number of service credits Value of service credits (£)

Q3 2004

0

0

Q4 2004

4

1,504,000

Q1 2005

1

40,000

Q2 2005

2

1,082,000

Q3 2005

2

320,000

Q4 2005

4

220,000

Q1 2006

2

117,000

Q2 2006

5

868,000

Q3 2006

9

297,000

Q4 2006

3

37,000


In March 2006 HMRC paid £270,000 back to Capgemini for overpayments made by Capgemini on service credits in previous quarters.

Since Capgemini took over the tax credit IT system in June 2004 there have been 18 hours and 30 minutes of unscheduled online service disruption against a contracted time of 13,962 hours and 30 minutes. This represents 0.1 per cent. of unscheduled online service disruption. Of these 18 hours and 30 minutes, 15 hours and 45 minutes fell in the first year. In calendar year 2006 no hours were lost.

Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many new IT releases there have been to the tax credit system in each month since the contract transferred to Capgemini. [126510]

Dawn Primarolo: Capgemini assumed responsibility for the management of the Aspire contract in June 2004. The Aspire contract is the contract by which information technology is provided to the Inland Revenue and its successor department, HMRC.

Since June 2004 there have been new IT releases to the tax credit system in September 2004, April 2005, November 2005, April 2006 and October 2006.


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Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much has been paid to Capgemini for running the IT tax credits system, exclusive of VAT. [126511]

Dawn Primarolo: The amount paid to Capgemini in respect of IT service charges for running the tax credits system during the period from July 2004 to January 2007 is £64 million, exclusive of VAT.

Welfare Tax Credits: Overpayments

Mr. Godsiff: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many legal actions were instigated against tax credit claimants in respect of overpayments in each month of the last two years for which figures are available; and in how many cases in each month the claimant was continuing to dispute the claim. [129024]

Dawn Primarolo: Information on the monthly basis requested is not readily available and could be compiled only at disproportionate cost.

Before instigating legal proceedings HMRC make a number of attempts (by telephone and a personal visit) to contact the customer. They also check to see if there is any existing dispute about the overpayment before commencing legal action. Where the issue of a court summons produces a defence claiming that the overpayment is in dispute proceedings are suspended until the claim is resolved.

Mr. Gauke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what assessment he has made of the contribution of official error in determining the level of write-offs of disputed overpayments of tax credits in 2005-06 and 2006-07; [129157]

(2) what assessment he has made of the reasons for the difference in the amounts written off for disputed overpayments of tax credits in 2006-07 as compared to 2005-06. [129158]

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the oral evidence given before the Treasury Committee on 14 March 2007.

Welfare Tax Credits: Personation

Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many tax credit claimants have disputed their payment on the grounds that their identity has been stolen and a fraudulent claim has been made on their behalf. [128540]

Dawn Primarolo [holding answer 19 March 2007]: The information requested is not available but where a customer does contact HMRC to report possible abuse this is acted upon by the Department to stop any incorrect payments and prevent any further distress to the genuine claimant by correcting the claim as quickly as possible.


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