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9 Jun 2008 : Column 106W—continued
Treasury
Child Tax Credit Helpline
Jo Swinson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many audits of performance of the Child Tax Credits Helpline there have been since the helpline was established; on what dates; and what the outcome of each such audit was. [206921]
Jane Kennedy [holding answer 21 May 2008]: The information requested is not available in the format requested.
HMRC conducts a series of ongoing checks to monitor the effectiveness and performance of the Tax Credits Helpline which handles calls relating to Child Tax Credit. These checks include the daily recording and monitoring of general telephony performance, quality checks and complaints received.
Excise Duties: Motor Vehicles
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what analysis he undertook prior to the Budget 2008 of the effect of the proposed changes to vehicle excise duty on people in different income groups. [208836]
Angela Eagle: The Chancellor of the Exchequer takes into account all relevant economic, social and environmental factors in deciding taxation policy, including analysis of distributional impacts.
Fuels: Prices
Stewart Hosie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment has been made of the effect of changes in fuel prices on the cost of the provision of Government services; and if he will make a statement. [208738]
Angela Eagle: Fuel prices have a wide-ranging impact on the public finances. The exact scale and timing of these effects will depend on the responses of individuals and businesses to changing prices.
Income
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average annual income was in (a) Cornwall, (b) each parliamentary constituency in Cornwall, (c) the South West and (d) England in the most recent year for which figures are available. [208849]
Yvette Cooper: Information on average annual earnings is set out in the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) by the Office of National Statistics. Data are made available on the basis of where a person lives and where they work, broken down by parliamentary constituencies, regions and country. Information on the basis of where people live is available at:
Information on the basis of where people work is available at:
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_labour/ASHE _2007/tab9_7a.xls.
Information on the basis of where people live at the local authority level is available at:
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_labour/ASHE _2007/tab8_7a.xls.
Information on the basis of where people work at the local authority level is available at:
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_labour/ASHE _2007/tab7_7a.xls.
Income Tax: Tax Rates and Bands
Lynne Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 6th May 2008, Official Report, column 826W, on income tax: tax rates and bands, what representations he has received on compensating (a) carers and (b) retirees between the ages of 50 and 59 years who are paying more tax as a result of the abolition of the 10 pence starting rate; what plans he has to consult on mechanisms to compensate such carers and retirees; and if he will make a statement. [204671]
Jane Kennedy: The Chancellor receives representations on a wide aide range of issues. On 13 May 2008 the Chancellor announced that income tax personal allowances would be increased by £600 for the current tax year, providing an additional £120 to basic rate taxpayers. This will support all basic rate taxpayers under 65, including many carers and retirees between the ages of 50 and 59. As the Chancellor said on 13 May, he will report on proposals for future years at the Pre-Budget Report.
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the oral statement of 13 May 2008, Official Report, columns 1201-2, on income tax, (1) what the effect of the (a) increase in personal allowances and (b) abolition of the 10 pence starting rate of tax is for those earning below £40,835, broken down by £1,000 income bands; and if he will make a statement; [206884]
(2) what information he holds on the (a) age, (b) sex, (c) household composition and (d) earnings level of the 1.1 million people estimated to receive partial compensation as a result of his proposals in relation to those who lost out as a result of the withdrawal of the 10 pence starting rate of tax. [206885]
Jane Kennedy [holding answer 20 May 2008]: The announcement on 13 May means that 80 per cent. of the households who stood to lose from the Budget 2007 reforms are compensated in full, and the remaining 1.1 million will see their losses more than halved.
Details of the 1.1 million households who are not fully compensated, including the information requested, are set out in the Government's memorandum to the Treasury Committee on its inquiry into Budget Measures and Low-Income Households.
Mr. Gauke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of the £2.7 billion tax cut announced on 13 May will benefit persons paying higher rate or basic rate income tax, excluding those persons paying the basic rate only as a consequence of the abolition of the 10 pence rate. [207143]
Jane Kennedy: People under the age of 65 with incomes between 5,435 and 41,435 will gain from the increase in the personal allowance announced on 13 May.
If the 10p starting rate of income tax had been retained, people would have begun paying the basic rate of income tax at an income of £7,755.
Just over 90 per cent of the benefit will go to people with incomes between £7,755 and £41,435.
Income: Ministry of Defence
Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether it is the policy of his Department that the proceeds of all asset sales by the Ministry of Defence should be available for re-investment within the defence budget; and if he will make a statement. [208718]
Yvette Cooper: Chapter 7 of the 2008-09 Consolidated Budgeting Guidance sets out the policy for the treatment of proceeds from asset sales. This is available on the Treasury website at:
Members: Correspondence
Sir Michael Spicer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will respond to the letter from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire of 17th April, on tax on fuel, PO Ref 1/56374/2008. [209694]
Angela Eagle: I have replied to the hon. Member.
Sir Michael Spicer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will respond to the letter from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire of 14 May, on the 10 per cent. tax band, PO Ref 1/571295/2008. [209696]
Jane Kennedy: I replied to the hon. Member on 6 June.
Oil: Prices
Stewart Hosie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the effect of changes in the prices of oil and gas on taxation revenues accruing to the Exchequer; and if he will make a statement. [208739]
Angela Eagle: The full impact of higher oil and gas prices on tax revenues will depend on their effect on the economy as a whole.
Higher oil prices generate greater receipts from both North sea corporation tax and petroleum revenue tax but there are a number of offsetting effects that limit the overall impact on the public finances. These include the impact of temporarily higher inflation on the indexation of tax allowances and social security benefits, the impact from lower demand for fuel on fuel duties and repercussions on other consumption and expenditure taxes and that higher oil costs could affect the profits of other companies.
Updated forecasts will be published in the Pre-Budget Report later this year.
PFI: Leeds
John Battle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the value is of private finance initiative schemes in (a) Leeds metropolitan district and (b) Leeds West constituency. [209204]
Angela Eagle: The full list of all signed PFI projects can be found on HM Treasury's website at:
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/documents/public_private _partnerships/ppp_pfi_stats.cfm.
For each PFI project, this list details the project name, the capital value, the constituency and the procuring authority.
John Battle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many private finance initiative schemes there are in Leeds West constituency. [209205]
Angela Eagle: The full list of all signed PFI projects can be found on HM Treasury's website at:
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/documents/public_private _partnerships/ppp_pfi_stats.cfm.
For each PFI project, this list details the project name, the capital value, the constituency and the procuring authority.
Poynter Review
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects the final report by Kieran Poynter into the data loss at HM Revenue and Customs to be published; and if he will make a statement. [208748]
Jane Kennedy: I refer the hon. Member to the Chancellor’s statement of 17 December 2007, Official Report, column 612.
Revenue and Customs: Official Hospitality
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was spent on (a) alcohol and (b) entertainment by each HM Revenue and Customs office in the last 12 month period for which figures are available. [208747]
Jane Kennedy: Expenditure, including that on entertaining, is subject to audit and the principles of Managing Public Money and the Treasury handbook on Regularity and Propriety. £10,001 was spent within HMRC (excluding VGA) on entertaining during the 2007-08 financial year. Obtaining information on the amount spent on alcohol within this figure is available only at disproportionate cost.
This total can be analysed to the appropriate office directorates within HMRC as follows:
| £ | |
Revenue and Customs: Pay
Mr. Gauke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what the average salary is of a member of staff in HM Revenue and Customs assigned to handling the recovery of tax credit overpayments; [206861]
(2) how many members of staff in HM Revenue and Customs are assigned to handling the recovery of tax credit overpayments. [206862]
Jane Kennedy [holding answer 20 May 2008]: The information requested is not available centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Where there is a continuing award, tax credits overpayments are automatically recovered by adjusting the customer's payments. Such action involves minimal staff intervention. HMRC's Code of Practice 26 available at
provides details of the automatic rates of recovery.
In circumstances where a tax credits claim has ended and there is no continuing entitlement from which overpaid tax credits can be recovered, the overpaid amount will be recovered by direct payment from the claimant.
Staff engaged in direct recovery work of these overpayments comprise several grades at different recovery stages and it is not possible to isolate the number or calculate the average salaries of staff engaged solely in the direct recovery of tax credits overpayments.
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