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4 Nov 2009 : Column 1004W—continued
Treasury
Business: Taxation
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many small businesses (a) in Coventry and (b) in the UK have applied to defer their tax payments over the financial year under the Government's late payment scheme. [297388]
Mr. Timms: Since its introduction on 24 November 2008 the Business Payment Support Service has agreed over 220,300 times to pay arrangements in the UK with businesses to spread tax payments of about £3.9 billion. This has helped to support more than 150,000 businesses, the vast majority of which are small and medium sized, and employ an estimated 600,000 people. Over 90 per cent. of the value of arrangements is being paid on time without prompting.
Figures for Coventry show that nearly 840 arrangements have been agreed worth £18 million. HM Revenue and Customs does not have the specific number of small businesses as the service is open to all sizes of business and some businesses might have more than one agreement to spread payments of more than one type of tax.
Child Care Vouchers
Jessica Morden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the proportion of parents receiving childcare vouchers from employers who pay income tax at the basic rate. [295940]
Mr. Timms: Published research, commissioned by HM Revenue and Customs in 2006, by the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) found that 70 per cent. of the recipients of child care vouchers were basic rate taxpayers in late 2005. The report is available at:
30 per cent. of child care voucher recipients were higher rate taxpayers, who account for 6 per cent. of parents. This group also receive a proportionally higher amount of the relief that goes to parents through Employer Supported Childcare due to their higher marginal tax rates.
Child Trust Fund: Expenditure
Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his most recent estimate is of the cost to the public purse of the Child Trust Fund in each year between 2010-11 and 2015-16; and if he will make a statement. [297324]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The latest projections for the Exchequer cost of the Child Trust Fund are given in the HMRC publication Child Trust Fund Statistical Report 2009, available via the HMRC website.
Economic Growth
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the level of economic growth in each of the next 12 months. [297173]
Ian Pearson: The Government set out its latest assessment of UK economic developments and prospects in Budget 2009 (HC 407). We will produce updated forecasts in the pre-Budget report as normal.
Gold and Foreign Exchange Reserves
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans his Department has for the future level of gold reserves held by the Government. [297179]
Ian Pearson: I refer the hon. Member to the Government statement of March 2004. The position has not changed.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions he has had on the level of gold reserves held by the Government. [297181]
Ian Pearson: The Chancellor of the Exchequer has regular discussions on all aspects of reserve management.
Inflation
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the projected inflation rate in each of the next 12 months. [297240]
Ian Pearson: The Budget 2009 forecast is for the consumer prices index (CPI) inflation rate to fall to 1 per cent. by the end of 2009, and remain below target in 2010. CPI inflation is forecast to return close to target during 2011 with the lagged effects of monetary policy easing continuing to feed through. Updated forecasts for inflation will be published later this autumn in the pre-Budget report, as is usual practice.
The Government do not publish a monthly forecast for the inflation rate.
Northern Rock
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions he has had with representatives of former shareholders of Northern Rock; and if he will make a statement. [297287]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings.
Northern Rock: Compensation
Mr. Todd: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 19 June 2009, Official Report, column 548W, on Northern Rock: compensation, if he will publish the submissions made by the Government to the Northern Rock independent valuer. [297396]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Government have made submissions to the Northern Rock independent valuer, as have other parties who will be affected by the outcome of the valuation exercise. It will be for the independent valuer to decide how far he publishes the contents of submissions he has received.
Presbyterian Mutual Society
Lady Hermon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on the time taken by the Prime Minister's Working Group on the Presbyterian Mutual Society to report its conclusions. [297176]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Working Group on the Presbyterian Mutual Society will report its conclusions to the Prime Minister when all options have been fully considered.
Taxation: Holiday Accommodation
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will consider the merits of delaying until April 2011 the proposed changes to the furnished holiday letting rules to undertake a consultation. [297308]
Mr. Swire: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what consideration he has given to delaying the proposed revision of the Furnished Holiday Lettings rules until after April 2010 in order to consult with the tourism industry. [297684]
Mr. Timms: The Government announced the withdrawal of the furnished holiday lettings scheme from 2010 in Budget 2009 to allow those affected time to plan. This change was necessary because the furnished holiday lettings rules may not be compliant with EU law. It is therefore not appropriate to consult on whether a change should be made.
Draft legislation and an impact assessment will be published alongside the 2009 pre-Budget report. The Government will be happy to receive comments at that time.
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many people were granted relief under the furnished holiday letting rules in respect of an occupancy rate claim of (a) 10, (b) 15, (c) 20 and (d) 25 weeks and over in the 2007-08 tax year; [297310]
(2) what taxation arrangements will apply to owners of (a) self-catering cottages and (b) bed and breakfast establishments following the proposed changes to the furnished holiday letting rules. [297312]
Mr. Timms: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave on 20 October 2009, Official Report, column 1413W, to the hon. Member for Montgomeryshire (Lembit Öpik).
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many owners of holiday cottages in the UK who are in the European Economic Area claimed tax relief under the furnished holiday letting rules in the 2007-08 tax year. [297313]
Mr. Timms: Non-UK residents are not eligible to claim tax relief under the furnished holiday lettings rules.
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what revenue accrued to the Exchequer under the furnished holiday letting rules in each year since 1997; and what estimate he has made of revenue under such rules in each year to 2012. [297315]
Mr. Timms: The estimated taxable profits from 1996-97 to 2007-08 for those who made a net profit on furnished holiday lettings is shown in the following table. Following the changes announced at Budget 2009, figures for tax years 2006-07 and 2007-08 include profits from furnished property lettings within the European Economic Area. The revenue accruing to the Exchequer would depend on the marginal rate of each taxpayer, which depends on their specific circumstances.
| Profits from FHL properties (£million) | |
No estimates are available for later years.
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of holiday cottages which will be affected by the proposed changes to the furnished holiday lettings rules. [297320]
Mr. Timms: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Montgomeryshire (Lembit Opik) on 20 October 2009, Official Report, column 1413W.
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to raise the occupancy threshold for eligibility rules in relation to furnished holiday lettings. [297629]
Mr. Timms: There are no plans to raise the occupancy threshold for eligibility in relation to the Furnished Holiday Lettings (FHL) rules. It was announced at Budget 2009 that the FHL rules would be repealed with effect from April 2010.
Draft legislation and an impact assessment will be published alongside the 2009 pre-Budget report. The Government will be happy to receive comments at that time.
Taxation: South West
Andrew George: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much (a) individuals, (b) businesses, (c) estates and (d) other bodies in (i) Cornwall and (ii) the Isles of Scilly have paid in tax in each year since 1997. [297276]
Mr. Timms: Information on individual taxpayers resident on the Isles of Scilly is not available as the sample size is too small to provide reliable estimates of income tax liability. Aggregate figures for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly are shown in table 3.14 "Income and tax by borough and district or unitary authority" available at:
It is not possible to provide reliable estimates for revenue received from other taxpayers at this geographical level for the following reasons:
a company's registered office may not reflect where economic activity occurs as companies may have business premises or trade anywhere;
VAT registration addresses may not match the location the trader operates from, for example a chain would only have one VAT registration covering all its branches; and
not all Inheritance Tax returns have a postcode, national estimates based on a sample of data.
Welfare Tax Credits
Steve Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the (a) mean and (b) median income of tax credit claimants was in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [296511]
Mr. Timms: Tax credits are a carefully targeted system of support that provides the greatest help to families on the lowest incomes. Over 75 per cent. of tax credit support to in-work families in 2007-08 went to families earning under £20,000. Families on higher incomes also receive support, but this is reduced in value through tapering.
The targeted nature of tax credits is reflected in the following table, which shows the mean and median annual household income of in-work families benefiting from tax credits for each year between 2003-04 and 2007-08.
| £ | ||
| Mean income | Median income | |
This information is based on the annual household income used to calculate the tax credit award but excluding the income disregard. Detailed information on what type of income is taken into account for tax credit purposes is published in the leaflet "Child and Working Tax Credit-a guide", available at:
The same information for out of work families is not available.
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