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25 Jun 2007 : Column 381Wcontinued
Mr. Laws:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the morale of (a) tax
credits staff and (b) all HM Revenue and Customs staff in (i) November 2006, (ii) May 2006, (iii) November 2005 and (iv) May 2005; what assessment he has made of trends in morale; and if he will make a statement. [144865]
Dawn Primarolo: HMRC takes the morale and well-being of its staff very seriously. It conducts a staff survey twice a year, which questions a sample of all staff.
Results for surveys conducted in May and November 2005 and 2006 are published on the HMRC Internet at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/research/.
John McDonnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many post reductions there were in HM Revenue and Customs in each of the last three financial years, broken down by grade. [144712]
Dawn Primarolo: The changes in numbers of staff in post by grade in HMRC since 1 April 2004 are shown in the following table.
Full-time equivalent units in post (as at 1 April each year) | Increase/(decrease) in year | ||||||
2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | |
Figures for 2004-05 are based on the figures for HM Customs and Excise and Inland Revenue prior to the formation of HMRC.
The Departments staffing baseline at 1 April 2004 is now 97,755 after adjustment for machinery of government changes and changes in the definitions of published data.
John McDonnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was spent on bonus payments made to senior civil servants in HM Revenue and Customs in 2006-07. [144713]
Dawn Primarolo: During 2006-07 bonus payments totalling £1,913,547 were made to senior civil servants in HM Revenue and Customs.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to publish the HM Revenue and Customs 2006-07 accounts; and if he will make a statement. [144869]
Dawn Primarolo: HMRC plans to lay its 2006-07 accounts before the House rises for the summer recess.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for which years since 1996 the Comptroller and Auditor General has qualified his opinion of the Trust Statements of (a) HM Revenue and Customs and (b) the Inland Revenue; for what reason in each case; and if he will make a statement. [144903]
Dawn Primarolo: This information is available in the Comptroller and Auditor General's Certificate and Report on the Trust Statements which can be found at:
Mr. MacNeil:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what performance targets apply to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) on the time taken to process claims for tax rebate from receipt of application to settlement of claim; what assessment he has made of recent levels of compliance with those targets; and what assessment he has made of the
compliance of HMRC, Centre 1, East Kilbride with the targets in the latest period for which figures are available. [144281]
Dawn Primarolo: HM Revenue and Customs target is to deal with 97 per cent. of formal repayment claims, from customers outside PAYE or Self Assessment who have had tax deducted from investment income, within 15 days. All such repayment claims are now dealt with in HMRCs Leicester office and HMRC currently meets the published target. HMRC do not have specific targets in respect of repayment claims from other contact with customers.
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what the budget is for the eco-towns programme; [145542]
(2) what funding his Department is providing for his proposed eco-towns programme. [145222]
John Healey: The Government are committed to delivering sustainable housing growth, and announced at Budget 2006 an ambition that all new homes would be zero carbon within a decade. The Department for Communities and Local Government have said they will consider plans for eco-towns put forward by local authorities. Funding for eco-towns and housing growth more generally is a matter for the Comprehensive Spending Review.
Mr. Gray: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer who directed that Mr. Attwood and Mr. Bishop of Inland Revenue should undertake a review in August 1999 of the hon. Member for North Wiltshires constituent Mr. Gerard Churchhouses contribution to the transfer pricing review of IBM; and whether the report of the review still exists. [144042]
Dawn Primarolo: Due to HM Revenue and Customs statutory duty of confidentiality it is not possible to comment on any aspect of IBM's affairs nor confirm whether any particular document exists.
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many representations (a) his Department and (b) the Office for National Statistics has received from local authorities on the accuracy of the Governments immigration statistics; what funds he has made available to local authorities to deal with the demands of immigration; and on what formula such funds were distributed. [142367]
John Healey: HM Treasury and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have received representations from local authorities about the ONSs population estimates and population projections used in the local government finance settlements, some of which cover the estimation of the international migration component.
The ONS announced planned improvements to the methods for estimating the international migration component of local authority population estimates in August 2006.
The amount of money apportioned to all local authorities is based to a large degree upon the local
population (including long-term migrants). The formula that Communities and Local Government use for apportioning this sum between individual local authorities can be found at:
Dr. Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will estimate the number of people who will be subject to a higher marginal rate of taxation as a result of Budget 2007 in each year from 2007-08 to 2009-10; and if he will make a statement; [131114]
(2) if he will estimate the number of people who will pay more income tax as a result of Budget 2007 in each year from 2007-08 to 2009-10; and if he will make a statement. [131115]
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what estimate he has made of the number of people (a) whose income will be reduced by the abolition of the 10p income tax rate, broken down by gender, and (b) whose loss of income caused by the abolition of the 10p income tax rate will be made up by tax credits; [131290]
(2) how many taxpayers will see their tax bill increase as a result of the proposed abolition of the 10p starting rate; and how many of this group will have the tax increase covered (a) completely and (b) in part by increased eligibility for tax credits. [132415]
Mrs. Moon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the effect of the abolition of the 10p tax band on an individual earning £10,000 per annum who is (a) in receipt of tax credits and (b) not in receipt of tax credits. [137865]
Ed Balls: In 2008-09, all 31 million taxpayers would have benefited from the 10p rate of income tax. Some 28 million of these taxpayers stand to gain from the cut in the basic rate of income tax to 20p.
As a result of the personal tax package changes in Budget 2007 as a whole, four in five households will be better off or see no change in household income. This means 21 million households will see their net tax payments fall or stay the same.
The final impact on individual families living standards will depend upon final levels of wages, the national minimum wage, indexation and levels of benefits such as the child tax credit and the pension credit.
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the likely net effect on annual Treasury revenues of a four pence reduction in the basic rate of income tax. [144566]
Dawn Primarolo: The Exchequer effect of a 4p reduction in the basic rate of income tax can be derived from table 1.6 'Direct effects of illustrative tax changes' on the HM Revenue and Customs website at
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the (a) number and (b) proportion of detached properties in (i) England and (ii) Wales which have a value above the inheritance tax threshold. [145235]
Dawn Primarolo: The number of detached properties in England with a gross value which exceeded £285,000 in 2006 is estimated at 1.9 million, or 41 per cent. of all detached properties in England. Only 27 per cent. of properties are detached, and overall only 18 per cent. of all properties were valued at more than £285,000. Corresponding figures for Wales are not available but 19 per cent. of sales of detached properties sold for prices over £285,000 in 2006.
In the same year only 6 per cent. of estates were liable to IHT. Budget 2007 announced that the IHT nil-rate band will increase to £350,000 in 2010-11; in addition, assets left to a surviving spouse or civil partner are completely exempt from IHT.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the merits of hypothecating monies from inheritance tax to pay for an individuals care costs, with particular reference to cost of accommodation in a care home when an individual has an estate above the inheritance tax threshold. [145723]
Dawn Primarolo: No such assessment has been made.
The revenue raised from IHT, along with that from other revenues, funds essential public services that benefit the whole country.
Mr. Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with Ministerial colleagues in the Ministry of Justice on the impact of the Legal Services Bill. [145412]
Mr. Timms: Treasury Ministers have regular discussions with their ministerial colleagues on a wide range of issues. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Governments practice to provide details of all such discussions.
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