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30 Apr 2008 : Column 475W—continued
Excise Duties: Alcoholic Drinks
Justine Greening: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what estimates of the levels of consumption of (a) spirits, (b) spirit-based ready-to-drinks, (c) wine, (d) beer, (e) cider and (f) sparkling wine he used in forecasting the revenue yields from increases in the rates of alcohol duties in (i) 2008-09, (ii) 2009-10 and (iii) 2010-11 as set out in Budget 2008, page 9, Table 1.2; [202185]
(2) what estimates he has made of the level of consumption of (a) spirits, (b) spirit-based ready-to-drinks, (c) wine, (d) beer, (e) cider and (f) sparkling wine for (i) 2004-05, (ii) 2005-06, (iii) 2006-07 and (iv) 2007-08; [202186]
(3) what the revenue from alcohol duties from (a) spirits, (b) spirit-based ready-to-drinks, (c) wine, (d) beer, (e) cider and (f) sparkling wine was in (i) 2004-05, (ii) 2005-06, (iii) 2006-07 and (iv) 2007-08. [202187]
Angela Eagle: Total duty receipts by type of alcohols products (cider, beer, wine and spirits) can be found in the HM Revenue and Customs ‘Beer and Cider Bulletin’, ‘Wine of Fresh Grapes or Made Wine Bulletin’ and ‘Spirits Bulletin’, which are available from the HM Revenue and Customs website addresses at:
The revenue forecast for alcohol duties reflect the underlying trend in alcohol consumption, as measured by HM Revenue and Customs data on quantities of alcohol products cleared or released for UK consumption. Published estimates of quantities for each drink type are also available from the same bulletins. Separate figures for spirit-based ready-to-drink and sparkling wine products are available in terms of quantities only and not in terms of duty receipts. The Budget 2008 forecast assumes a reduction in total pure alcohol consumed as a result of the alcohol duty changes of 1.6 per cent. 2.6 per cent. and 3.5 per cent. for 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 respectively.
Financial Services Authority: College Public Policy
Greg Clark: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what payments the Financial Services Authority made to College Public Policy in each of the last five years; on what dates; and for what purpose the payments were made in each case. [202254]
Angela Eagle: The matter raised in this question is the responsibility of the Financial Services Authority (FSA), whose day-to-day operations are independent from Government control and influence. I have asked the Chairman of the FSA to write to the hon. Member on the issue he raises.
Financial Services Compensation Scheme: Lansons Public Affairs
Greg Clark: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what payments the Financial Services Compensation Scheme made to Lansons Public Affairs in each of the last five years; on what dates; and for what purpose the payments were made in each case. [202256]
Angela Eagle: The matter raised in this question is the responsibility of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), whose day-to-day operations are independent from the Government control and influence. I have asked the Chief Executive of the FSCS to write to the hon. Member on the issue he raises.
Government Departments: Sustainable Development
Mr. Kidney: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many Government departments have (a) approached his Department for assistance and (b) received assistance in response to the procedure outlined on pages 4 and 5 in the UK Government Sustainable Procurement Action Plan. [202546]
Angela Eagle: The Treasury is in daily contact with departments on a wide range of issues and does not keep a central count of issues raised.
Pensions: Taxation
Rob Marris: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of people who would be affected if pension contributions were allowable for tax relief only against the basic rate of income tax; and what estimate his Department made of the effect on receipts to the Exchequer of allowing relief on pension contributions at the standard rate of income tax only in (a) 2005-06 and (b) 2006-07. [198065]
Angela Eagle: Latest detailed estimates of the annual cost of tax relief on registered pension schemes are available in Table 7.9 on Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs website at:
If the relief on individual contributions were constrained to the basic rate of income tax, this relief would fall by one quarter.
Latest estimates of the number of individuals receiving income tax relief on individual pension contributions are given in Table 3.8 on HMRC’s website at:
If the relief on individual pension contributions were constrained to the basic rate of income tax, the proportion of such taxpayers that would be affected is one quarter.
These estimates relate to individual contributions to both personal and occupational pensions. We have not estimated the impact of charging to income tax employer contributions to private pensions made for the benefit of employees who are liable to the higher rate of income tax. The estimates do not account for behavioural effects, which are likely to be large.
Revenue and Customs: Databases
Mr. Redwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what (a) cross-checks and (b) linkages (i) exist and (ii) are planned between the data records of individuals stored on databases held by (A) HM Revenue and Customs and (B) other Government departments. [200104]
Jane Kennedy: HMRC must ensure that its use and disclosure of information complies with requirements of section 17 and section 18 of the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005. HMRC are also required to comply with the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Human Rights Act 1998 where applicable.
All existing and any planned cross-checking and linking is carried out in accordance with business need and only where it is lawful to do so. This applies whether the processing is within HMRC or involves other Government Departments.
Taxation: Invalid Vehicles
Mrs. Moon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will assess the effects of the tariff classification regime as it applies to mobility scooters on (a) people with disabilities and (b) the elderly; [202102]
(2) if he will make representations to the World Customs Organisation to review the tariff classification applicable to mobility scooters; [202103]
(3) if he will meet (a) the World Customs Organisation, (b) the British Healthcare Trade Association and (c) Ministerial colleagues in the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform to discuss the effects of the tariff classification of mobility scooters. [202105]
Jane Kennedy: Mobility scooters are currently classified for customs purposes as ‘Vehicles principally designed for the transport of persons’. The EU has set an import duty of 10 per cent. for these vehicles. This duty is applied to the import value. The retail price for mobility scooters is determined by market forces and subject to fluctuation. The effects of tariff classification as it applies to mobility scooters will therefore vary according to the specific model being imported.
Government Ministers recognise that the tariff classification of mobility scooters is causing serious concern for both importers and end users of the products. The work to pursue a resolution is being co-ordinated by officials from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). HMRC regularly meet with representatives from The British Healthcare Trade Association (BHTA) as well as officials from the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) to discuss the issue.
Tariff Classification matters fall within the competence of the Community. It is the European Commission’s (EC) role to ensure uniform treatment of the same goods by agreeing a common EU position and then presenting that unified view. The UK, via officials from HMRC, has made representations to the Commission to have the classification of mobility scooters referred back to the World Customs Organisation. The EC declined on the basis that current guidelines provide uniformity of classification. In this context it is important to remember that classification experts, both at the European and the International levels, are not influenced by duty rates. The EC has agreed to consider a formal request for duty free treatment or a reduced rate of customs duty for mobility scooters. The BHTA is currently collating the necessary information to support HMRC with this approach.
VAT: Further Education
Stephen Williams: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what information his Department holds on recovery of value added tax (VAT) from further education colleges following VAT inspection of the use of zero-rated buildings in each year since 1997. [202019]
Jane Kennedy: HM Revenue and Customs holds details of the tax affairs of all VAT registered taxpayers. This includes, where relevant, details of any VAT collected from Further Education Colleges in respect of changes in use of buildings that were VAT zero-rated on construction. However, this information is not held centrally and could be collected only at disproportionate cost.
Welfare Tax Credits
Danny Alexander:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many full-time equivalent staff were employed to deal with (a) tax credit compliance,
(b) disputed overpayments, (c) fraud and (d) official error in each quarter since April 2003. [194493]
Jane Kennedy: For the information requested in (a) and (c) I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) on 8 October 2007, Official Report, column 243W.
For the information requested in (b) and (d) up to and including the quarter ended 30 June 2006 I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) on 25 July 2006: Official Report, column 1390W. More recent information is updated in the following table:
| Quarter ending | Number of full-time equivalent staff dealing with disputed payments |
The numbers of staff deployed generally fluctuates according to the amount of work received.
Danny Alexander: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families have been contacted as part of HM Revenue and Customs tax credit outreach work; what estimate he has made of the effectiveness of the work; and if he will make a statement. [194505]
Jane Kennedy: The information is not available as there is not a standard definition of outreach work. However, in Budget 2008 the Government announced that HMRC would work with children's centres to pilot different ways and different locations for providing advice and services on tax credits.
Welfare Tax Credits: Overpayments
Danny Alexander: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what value of overpayments were written off by the Tax Credit Office in each year since 2003. [197978]
Jane Kennedy: Overpaid tax credits for 2003-04 were only finally identified after April 2004 when HM Revenue and Customs started finalising awards for that year and the Tax Credit Office (TCO) began considering disputed overpayments in June 2004. The bulk of these disputed overpayments written off were early cases most of which were dealt with in 2005-06.
The total amounts written off by TCO in each year through the disputed overpayment process by applying official error relief is shown in the following table.
| Value of disputed overpayments written off by Tax Credit Office (£ million) | |
Figures for 2007-08 are not yet available.
Working Tax Credit
Susan Kramer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what research his Department has undertaken into the reasons for eligible families not claiming the child care element of the working tax credit; and if he will make a statement. [202140]
Jane Kennedy: Eligibility for the child care element depends on a family using registered child care and number of hours worked. The amount a family receives then depends on household income. HMRC recently commissioned research on the child care element which, in part, attempted to investigate reasons for eligible families not claiming the child care element of working tax credit.
A full report of findings will be published in due course by HMRC in accordance with the standard publication procedure.
Susan Kramer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his most recent estimate is of the number of families eligible for the childcare element of the working tax credit; what his estimate is of the number of eligible families who do not receive the credit; and if he will make a statement. [202180]
Jane Kennedy: The information requested is not available.
However, information on the average number of in-work families benefiting from the childcare element, based on final family circumstances and incomes, in 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06 are published in table 2.4 of the HMRC publications “Child and Working Tax Credits Statistics. Finalised Annual Awards”, for each relevant year. These publications are available on the HMRC website at:
Information on the estimates of the take-up rate for child and working tax credits in 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06 are produced in the HMRC publication “Child and Working Tax Credit Take-up rates”, for each relevant year. These publications are available on the HMRC website at:
Working Tax Credit: Fraud
Susan Kramer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many parents have been prosecuted as a result of providing incorrect information in claiming the childcare element of the working tax credit in each year since 2001; and if he will make a statement. [202141]
Jane Kennedy: The breakdown of figures to numbers of parents prosecuted for providing incorrect information in claiming the childcare element of the working tax credit in each year since 2001 is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
However, in respect of prosecution figures for all tax credits for 2000-01 to 2003-04, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Ribble Valley (Mr. Evans) on 29 June 2005, Official Report, column 1549W;
For 2004-05 to 2006-07, figures can be found at table 7 Part 2 of the Comptroller and Auditor General's standard report in the 2006-07 HMRC Accounts, which is available on the HMRC website at:
For 2007-08, figures are not yet available.
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