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9 Sep 2009 : Column 1927W—continued
For both (a) and (b) above and where a value of '<5' is displayed, this is to prevent individual properties being identified.
Income Tax
Mr. Vara: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total income tax take from residents of (a) each local authority area and (b) each parliamentary constituency in England was in each of the last 10 years. [290864]
Mr. Timms: Information on income tax revenues by unitary authority from 1999-2000 and parliamentary constituency from 2002-03 can be found in tables 3.14 "Income and tax by borough and district or unitary authority" and 3.15 "Income and tax by Parliamentary Constituency" in the National Statistics section of HM Revenue and Customs' (HMRC) website respectively, available at:
Estimates for earlier periods are not available. Estimates are based on the Survey of Personal Incomes, of which 2006-07 is currently the latest available.
Any inference from the information in tables 3.14 and 3.15 should take into account the confidence intervals in table 3.14a "income and tax by borough and district or unitary authority, Confidence Intervals" and table 3.15a "Income and tax by Parliamentary Constituency, Confidence Intervals", also available at:
Interest Rates: Credit Cards
Mr. Morley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to ensure that financial services providers reflect the Bank of England base interest rate in the interest rates offered on credit cards. [289215]
Kevin Brennan: I have been asked to reply.
The Government fully understand concerns over interest rates charged by some credit card lenders. In December last year the Government took decisive action to secure agreement from the credit card industry to Fair Principles for any interest rate increase they introduce on reviewing an individual's account. These came into force in January 2009, and provide extra protections when a customer or
group of customers' interest rate is changed as a result of a perceived change in their ability to repay their debts.
On the 2 July Government published the Consumer White Paper detailing plans to bring forth a review of credit and store card regulation. The review will examine whether restrictions should be placed on the raising of interest rates on existing debts.
The review will also explore if minimum monthly repayments should be raised to combat debt levels, it will also look at the benefits and risks of banning the practice of increasing borrowers credit limits without their consent, and what order debts built up on a credit card should be paid off. We intend to publish a consultation in the autumn and report our findings in the new year.
Members: Correspondence
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to reply to the letter of 21 July 2009 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mrs. Florence Gadjui. [290645]
Mr. Timms: I have replied to the right hon. Member.
Pay
Lynne Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy to establish a commission to examine high levels of remuneration; and if he will make a statement. [290628]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Government have a role to play in preventing undesirable practices which encourage excessive risk-taking such as remuneration policies in the banking sector. However, in general, private sector remuneration arrangements are a matter for employers, employees and shareholders to agree.
Payments Council
Mr. Breed: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions he has had with the Payments Council on the phasing out of cheques as a method of payment; and if he will make a statement. [290829]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The National Payments Council are not considering phasing out cheques as a method of payment, but only whether it would be sensible to set a long-term date for closing the use of a cheque clearing system.
In the National Payments Plan, the Payments Council committed to conducting initial research and analysis into the future of cheques as a method of payment, with the aims of:
understanding the barriers to cheque substitution;
identifying the areas where work is needed on acceptable alternatives to cheques; and,
clarifying where more education is needed on existing alternatives.
The Payments Council is committed to being open and transparent in its review of the future of the cheque clearing and even if a timescale were to be set, various milestones would need to be agreed and delivered before any final decision would be taken to irrevocably close cheque operations.
Protection of Trading Interests Act 1980
Jo Swinson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Protection of Trading Interests Act 1980. [288275]
Mr. McFadden: I have been asked to reply.
The Government have not recently made any such assessment.
State Retirement Pensions
Steve Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 2 March 2009, Official Report, column 1309W, on state retirement pensions, how many (a) men and (b) women who reached state pension age between 6 April 2008 and 5 April 2009 have taken up the option of buying back one or more years of class 3 national insurance contributions under the measures contained in the Pensions Act 2008 to date; and how much has been paid back in contributions by such individuals to date. [290880]
Mr. Timms: The number of people who reached state pension age between 6 April 2008 and 5 April 2009 and have taken up the option of buying back one or more years of class 3 national insurance contributions under the measure introduced by the Pensions Act 2008 is (a) 21 men and (b) 204 women. National insurance contributions of £37,682.20 were paid by the men and £343,571.90 by the women.
Tax Credit
Mr. Vara: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was paid in tax credits to residents of (a) each local authority area and (b) each parliamentary constituency in England in each of the last 10 years. [290865]
Mr. Timms: Child and working tax credit were introduced in April 2003 when they replaced working families' tax credit, disabled person's tax credit and children's tax credit.
Estimates of expenditure on tax credits at local authority and parliamentary constituency level are available only at disproportionate cost because the necessary expenditure data are not readily available on a geographical basis.
Estimates of the average number of recipient families and their entitlements (as opposed to payments) to tax credits, by local authority and parliamentary constituency, for each year between 2003-04 and 2007-08, are available in the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) publications "Child and Working Tax Credits Statistics Finalised Annual Awards. Geographical Analyses", available at:
The same information for 2008-09 is not yet available as awards have not yet been finalised. However, estimates of the number of recipient families with tax credits, based on provisional awards, as at 1 April 2009, are available in the HMRC snapshot publication "Child and Working Tax Credits Statistics. Geographical analyses. April 2009", available at the same internet address.
Estimates of the number of working families' tax credit and disabled person's tax credit recipients, and the average weekly value of awards, from May 2001 to November 2002 are available at:
Estimates prior to May 2001 are not available. Similarly estimates are not available for children's tax credit.
Taxation: Gambling
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the likely effects on the Exchequer of the decisions by William Hill and Ladbrokes to relocate their betting operations from the UK to Gibraltar. [290758]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: General betting duty is charged at 15 per cent. of the gross profit of UK bookmakers. Bookmakers' profits include profits from "over the counter" placed bets and remotely taken Internet and telephone placed bets.
HMRC do not break down general betting duty receipts into these component parts, and cannot release taxpayer specific data while maintaining taxpayer confidentiality.
UK Financial Investments
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what reason was given by John Kingman for his resignation as Chief Executive of UK Financial Investments Ltd. [290925]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Forthcoming leadership changes at UK Financial Investment Ltd were set out in a press release on 28 July which can be accessed via the UKFI website:
Children, Schools and Families
Academies Enterprise Trust
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) what funding his Department has provided for the Academies Enterprise Trust in each year since the Trust was established; [290739]
(2) which schools in (a) Essex and (b) elsewhere have been transferred to the Academies Enterprise Trust to date; on what date each such transfer took place; how much funding was provided to each school upon transfer; and from what sources such funding was drawn. [290740]
Mr. Coaker: The following schools in Essex have been transferred to the Academies Enterprise Trust. No schools elsewhere have been transferred.
In September 2008: The Rickstones School became Rickstones Academy, Greensward College became Greensward Academy and the John Bramston School became the Maltings Academy. In September 2009, Bishops Park College and Colbayns High School became Clacton Coastal Academy.
The funding in the table was provided in respect of academies which constitute the Academies Enterprise Trust. The source of all funding is the Department for Children, Schools and Families.
| Total in respect of all academies within the Academies Enterprise Trust | |
| Development funding provided prior to the academies opening | £ |
| £ | ||
| Funding provided once the academies were open | 2008/09 | 2009/10 |
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will place in the Library a copy of the (a) accounts and (b) annual reports provided to his Department by the Academies Enterprise Trust for each year of the Trust's existence. [290741]
Mr. Coaker: We have not yet received any accounts or annual reports from the Academies Enterprises Trust.
The Academies Enterprises Trust comprises Greensward Academy, Maltings Academy and New Rickstones Academy, which opened in September 2008 and Clacton Coast which opened in September 2009. For the Academies that opened in 2008, their first annual report and accounts will cover the period 1 September 2008 to 31 August 2009. The Trust would then have until 31 December 2009 to get their audited accounts to us. For the Clacton Coastal Academy, audited accounts are due to be with us by 31 December 2010.
Once finalised, the accounts will be in the public domain and will be published on the Charities Commission's website.
Faith Schools
Dr. Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families whether teachers can be dismissed for conduct incompatible with the tenets of the religious denomination specified in relation to voluntary-aided schools with a religious character. [290664]
Mr. Coaker: Voluntary-aided schools with a religious character do have the ability to have regard to the conduct of a teacher which is incompatible with the tenets of the religion of the school when considering the termination of employment of any teacher.
I firmly believe and trust in the professionalism of our head teachers and in the skill and abilities of governing bodies across the country to ensure that they conduct the employment process fairly and in line with relevant legislation.
Dr. Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) what assessment he has made of whether religious education in voluntary-aided schools with a religious character can be given in accordance with the tenets of the religion or the religious denomination specified in relation to the school by teachers who are not of that religion; [290667]
(2) what assessment he has made of whether religious education in voluntary-aided schools with a religious character can be given by teachers who do not share the same faith as the religion or the religious denomination specified in relation to the school. [290668]
Mr. Coaker: The choice of who delivers religious education (and any other subject) in voluntary aided schools is a matter for local determination. Head teachers and governing bodies in voluntary aided schools will judge the appropriateness or otherwise of individuals who teach, or are seeking an appointment to teach, religious education in their schools. The law maintains that preference may be given to those of the faith but it is not implicit that only those of the faith may teach RE.
Free School Meals
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many children in (a) York, (b) North Yorkshire, (c) Yorkshire and the Humber and (d) England have received free school meals in each year since 1979. [290654]
Ms Diana R. Johnson: Information is collected on both free school meal eligibility and the number of pupils actually taking a free school meal on the day of the School Census. Most data analysis is based on eligibility which has only been collected since 1997. The number of pupils taking free school meals has been collected since 1989. The readily available information for these years is shown in the following table.
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