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20 Oct 2009 : Column 1414W—continued
Valuation Office: Training
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the Answer of 21 May 2009, Official Report, column 1514W, on the Valuation Office: training, what the content of the Euclidian programme is. [294444]
Ian Pearson: Euclidian is a suite of web-based interactive learning tools designed and developed by the Institute of Revenues Rating and Valuation (IRRV). The programmes, which cover a variety of benefit and revenue topics, are predominantly aimed at people working in local authorities.
Euclidian is hosted on the IRRV website at:
Welfare Tax Credits
Steve Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the effect on public expenditure of removing the second income threshold on tax credits and applying a consistent taper rate of (a) 40 per cent., (b) 41 per cent. and (c) 42 per cent. in each of the next five years; and if he will estimate the number of people who would have their awards reduced to zero in each case. [293380]
Mr. Timms [holding answer 15 October 2009]: The estimated savings from 2010-11 to 2014-15 from removing the second income threshold and applying a consistent taper rate at each of the rates requested, is provided in the following table. No account has been taken of possible behavioural effects.
| Effect on expenditure | |||||
| £ million | |||||
| Taper rate | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | 2013-14 | 2014-15 |
Estimates of the additional number of claimants who would have their awards tapered to zero if these measures were implemented immediately are shown in the following table.
| Additional number of claimants with awards tapered to zero | |
| Thousand | |
Steve Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the effect on the Exchequer of reducing the income disregard for tax credits from £25,000 to (a) £2,500 and (b) £0 in each of the next five years. [293572]
Mr. Timms: This information requested is available only at disproportionate cost due to the complexity of the computations and assumptions involved. Reducing the income disregard would result in significant additional overpayments being generated. The extent to which these impact on the Exchequer will depend on the timing of these overpayments and whether or not they are ultimately recovered. There may also be a behavioural effect as incentives to report income changes could also be affected.
The hon. Member may find it informative to refer to the answer given to the hon. Member for Rayleigh (Mr. Francois), on 7 November 2006, Official Report, column 1043-1044W, regarding the estimated cost of increasing the income disregard from £2,500 to £25,000.
Low Birthweight Babies
Jim Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of babies born in each primary care trust area were of low birth weight in the period since 1997. [293188]
Angela E. Smith: I have been asked to reply.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Jil Matheson, dated October 2009:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent questions asking:
What proportion of babies born in each primary care trust area of England were of low birth weight in the period since 1997. (293188)
What percentage of babies born alive had a birth weight of less than 2.5 kg in (a) England, (b) each strategic health authority and (c) each primary care trust area in each of the last three years. (293187)
The table attached provides the percentage of live births that were of low birth weight (less than 2.5kg) in: (a) England, (b) each strategic health authority and (c) each primary care organisation area for 1997 to 2008 (the latest year available).
A copy has been placed in the House of Commons Library.
Figures for 15 primary care organisations have been suppressed because of small numbers, in order to protect the privacy of individual mothers and babies.
Cabinet Office
Charities
Jenny Willott: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the answer of 12 May 2009, Official Report, columns 690-92W, on charities: insolvency, (1) how many registered charities have declared themselves insolvent in each month since March 2009; and if she will make a statement; [294028]
(2) pursuant to the answer of 6 July 2009, Official Report, columns 251-53W, on charities, how many charities there were on the Charity Commission register in each month since March 2009; and if she will make a statement. [294029]
Angela E. Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Charity Commission. I have asked the Commission to reply.
Letter from Andrew Hind, dated October 2009:
As the Chief Executive of the Charity Commission, I have been asked to respond to your written Parliamentary Question on how many registered charities declared themselves insolvent in each month since March 2009; and how many charities have been on the Charity Commission register in each month since March 2009.
With regard to how many registered charities declared themselves insolvent in each month since March 2009, the Charity Commission does not currently record this information centrally. However, I have set out the number of charities who were removed from the register, in each month, since March 2009 with the reasons recorded for their removal.
The table below refers to those charities which are required to register with the Commission by law. Smaller charities are not required to register with us; the threshold for registration was an annual income of £1,000 until April 2007 when this threshold was increased to £5,000.
Charities removed from the Register due to insolvency are likely to have fallen under the category "Ceased to exist or operate for other reasons". However, it is unlikely that insolvency accounts for more than a small minority.
The increase in numbers of charities removed from August 2009 is a result of our work to improve the accuracy of the Register of Charities. A key aspect of our strategy is the prompt removal of charities that are inactive and with which we can no longer establish contact. The marked peak of removals of charities that have ceased to exist or operate in September 2009 is a direct consequence of this strategy.
With regard to how many charities have been on the Charity Commission register in each month since March 2009, please see the table below.
| Number | |||||||
| 2009 | |||||||
| 31 March | April | May | June | July | August | September | |
Main charities are those required to prepare accounts and send an Annual Return or Annual Update to the Commission. Linked charities, such as subsidiary, group or constituent charities are each linked to a main charity for administrative purposes and do not report their financial results in their own right.
It is a rather complex picture because of the unusually high number of charities removed from the Register in recent months. I would be happy to give you a more detailed background briefing if that would be helpful.
Charities: Government Assistance
John Battle: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what support her Department has made available to charities in the Leeds area during the recession; and if she will make a statement. [294014]
Angela E. Smith: As part of the Government support for the third sector during the recession, over £1.7 million has been provided to organisations in and around the Leeds area:
The Hardship Fund made three awards to organisations in Leeds totalling £228,498.
The Targeted Support Fund made 55 grants, which totalled £1.38 million in Calderdale, Kirklees, Wakefield and Bradford.
Nine organisations in the Leeds local authority area were successfully awarded Modernisation Fund bursaries (worth £9,000 in total). One organisation has received a Modernisation Fund loan in Leeds for £100,000.
As part of Government's response to recession, the Department for Work and Pensions is working with Voluntary Action Leeds to provide volunteer brokerage to individuals that have been unemployed for longer than six months.
A regional roadshow was held in the Yorkshire and Humber region on 21 April 2009 to promote the Government's recession support measures.
I am pleased that many third sector organisations in the Leeds area have been successful in accessing the Government's recession measures. This support is in addition to the £515 million that Government are already providing to support the third sector across England through its core programmes.
Internet: Advertising
Annette Brooke: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office when the (a) Central Sponsor for Information Assurance and (b) Centre for Protection of National Infrastructure was informed that trials of 121 Media/Phorm systems had taken place. [294373]
Angela E. Smith: The Information Security and Assurance (ISA) team (formerly the Central Sponsor for Information Assurance) within the Cabinet Office has the lead strategic role in setting and co-ordinating data handling policy for government and for delivering the National Information Assurance Strategy. ISA does not determine which particular systems, software or ICT products are used within the UK and as such ISA would not be informed officially of any trials carried out by 121 Media/Phorm systems.
The Centre for Protection of National Infrastructure reports to the Home Office and is accountable to the director general of the Security Service.
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