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25 Jun 2007 : Column 394Wcontinued
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps his Department is taking to recover tax uncollected by HM Revenue and Customs in the period 2005-06. [145550]
Dawn Primarolo: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) take a number of steps to recover outstanding tax debts. These include:
The issue of printed reminders and letters
Telephone pursuit campaigns and calls to individual cases
Recovery visits to business and home addresses and,
if the debt is still unpaid instigation of legal proceedings via distraint, court and/or insolvency action. 2005-06 debt still outstanding is being managed and will now be subject to recovery action, time to pay arrangements, legal proceedings or insolvency action although some of the debt will still be under dispute.
The Department is also introducing more flexible payment methods to make it easier for customers to pay tax liabilities.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what bonuses were paid to staff working on tax credits in each (a) month, (b) quarter and (c) year from April 2003 to May 2007; and if he will make a statement; [141494]
(2) how many bonus payments were made to Tax Credit Office staff in each year since 2003, broken down by value of payment. [143595]
Mr. Timms: The information is not available for all staff working on tax credits. I refer the hon. Member to the answer my right hon. Friend gave him on 25 July 2006, Official Report, column 1393W. As she explained, staff in various parts of HM Revenue and Customs, not only the Tax Credit Office, may be deployed to tax credits work or deal with tax credits in addition to other work. It is not possible to isolate those in receipt of bonus payments.
For the number and value of bonus payments made to Tax Credit Office staff since new tax credits were introduced in 2003, I refer the hon. Member to the answers my right hon. Friend gave him on 23 October 2006, Official Report, column 1646W, 25 July 2006, Official Report, column 1393W, 29 June 2006, Official Report, column 587W, and 12 December 2005, Official Report, columns 1792-93W.
The Director of the Tax Credit Office continues to recognise exceptional performanceincluding examples of excellent customer servicethrough a Recognition Bonus Scheme. The number and value of bonus payments made to Tax Credits Office staff from October 2006 to May 2007 inclusive are shown as follows:
Number of Staff awarded a bonus payment | Total value paid (£) | |
Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many sick days were taken by Tax Credit Office staff in each year since 2003; and what the average number of sick days was per staff member. [143596]
Dawn Primarolo: The information requested is given in the following table:
Full-time equivalent days taken | Average number of working days lost per member of staff | |
Jim Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the evaluation strategy for research and development tax credits includes assessments of whether the final beneficial owner of the entity claiming the tax credits is based offshore. [145039]
John Healey: The research survey conducted in 2005 as part of the evaluation of R and D tax credits collected information on a range of characteristics of the R and D companies responding, including whether they were part of a larger foreign company or group. The findings are published as Research Report 12 on the HMRC website at:
Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy not to appoint individuals who hold non-domicile tax status as economic advisers or give them access to official papers on economic policy. [145030]
John Healey: The appointment and conduct of special advisers is in accordance with the Ministerial Code, Civil Service Code and Code of Conduct for Special Advisers.
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many home visits were made by HM Revenue and Customs staff to pensioners to provide assistance with completing self-assessment tax return forms in each of the last five years. [145478]
Dawn Primarolo: The information requested is not held centrally.
Mr. Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many 2005-06 tax returns have been lost. [145452]
Dawn Primarolo: Information on the number of lost tax returns is not recorded centrally. HMRC have a rigorous system for logging and handling returns in order to minimise the risk of losses.
Jim Cousins:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the recent enforcement actions taken by the US Inland Revenue Services against two large accountancy partnerships located both in the US and
the UK have been discussed at joint meetings of the UK and US tax authorities. [144694]
Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by the Financial Secretary on 13 June 2007, Official Report, column 1124W.
I am unable to comment on particular cases.
Helen Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people in Warrington were unemployed (a) in April 1997 and (b) at the latest date for which figures are available, broken down by (i) age group and (ii) local government ward. [145467]
John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnel l , 25 June 2007:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your parliamentary question asking how many people in Warrington were unemployed (a) in April 1997 and (b) the latest date for which figures are available, broken down by (i) age group and (ii) local government ward. (145467)
For unitary and local authorities, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) produces estimates of total unemployment, following International Labour Organisation (ILO)
definitions, from a statistic model. For all other estimates of unemployment for local areas, ONS compiles statistics from the Annual Population Survey (APS) following ILO definitions.
Table 1, attached, shows modelled estimates of the total number of unemployed, for the Warrington unitary authority, for the 12 months ending in February 1997 and the 12 months ending in September 2006, Estimates by age group are provided from the annual local area LFS for the 12 months ending in February 1997 and from the APS for the 12 months ending in September 2006. Corresponding estimates for local government wards are not available.
As these estimates are for a subset of the population in small geographical areas, they are based on small sample sizes, and are therefore subject to large margins of uncertainty.
ONS also compiles statistics for local areas of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA). Table 2, attached, shows the total numbers of people, and the numbers by age group, resident in the Warrington unitary authority, claiming JSA in April 1997, April 2007 and in May 2007, the latest available data. Also shown are the total numbers of claimants as percentages of the resident working age population. Table 3, attached, shows the numbers of JSA claimants in each local authority ward in Warrington, and these numbers as percentages of the resident working age populations, for May 2007.
Data for 2003 Census Area Statistics wards are provided for the latest period only, as data for the same ward boundaries, for April 1997, are not available.
Table 1: Unemployed persons resident in Warrington unitary authority | ||||||||
Thousand | ||||||||
All( 1) | Aged 16 to 24 | Aged 25 to 49 | Aged 50 and over | |||||
12 months ending | Level | Rate( 2) (%) | Level | Rate( 2) (%) | Level | Rate( 2) (%) | Level | Rate( 2) (%) |
(1) Model-based estimates are subject to random variability. (2) Unemployment as a percentage of the economically active population of the age group. Note: LFS/APS estimates are subject to sampling variability. Changes in the estimates over time should be treated with particular caution. Source: Annual local: area Labour Force Survey; Annuals Population Survey; ONS. |
Table 2: Claimants of Jobseekers Allowance resident in the Warrington unitary authority; by age group | |||||
All | Aged 16 to 24( 1) | Aged 25 to 49 | Aged 50 and over( 1) | ||
Month | Number | Proportion( 2) (%) | Number | Number | Number |
(1) Computerised claims only. Rounded to nearest 5. (2) Number of claimants expressed as a percentage of the resident working age population. Source: Jobcentre Plus administrative data. |
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