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2 Mar 2010 : Column 1018W—continued
Pension Credit: Leeds
Greg Mulholland: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many pensioners resident in Leeds, North-West constituency have been contacted as part of his Department's pension credit tax back campaign. [319497]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: As part of the Taxback campaign announced at Budget 2009, HM Revenue and Customs have contacted all 3.4 million beneficiaries of pension credit to encourage those who are overpaying tax on their bank and building society interest to claim it back and, where eligible, to register to receive future interest payments without tax deducted. The latest information on the number of pension credit beneficiaries (August 2009), shows that there were 3,680 beneficiaries in the Leeds, North-West parliamentary constituency.
Revenue and Customs: Surveillance
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) requests and (b) approvals for authorisation for HM Revenue and Customs to carry out (a) property interference, (b) intrusive surveillance and (c) covert human intelligence sources there have been in each of the last five years. [319632]
Mr. Timms: The Chief Surveillance Commissioner, Sir Christopher Rose, publishes a yearly figure for property interference, intrusive surveillance and covert human intelligence sources for all police forces and other agencies, including HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), in his annual report to Parliament. Sir Christopher does not break the figure into individual forces or agencies as the sensitivity of the information could lead to criminals assessing the covert capability of each force and agency. This applies equally to HMRC and it is therefore not considered to be in the public interest to make this information available.
Stamp Duty Land Tax
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what consideration he has given to the merits of restricting firms from using offshore companies to avoid stamp duty land tax. [319628]
Mr. Timms: Tax avoidance has the potential to damage the public finances and the provision of public services. HM Revenue and Customs monitors all aspects of tax avoidance closely on a continuous basis, advising Ministers accordingly.
Tax Allowances
Angela Browning: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will estimate the cost to the Exchequer in each financial year from 2010-11 to 2013-14 of introducing a transferable personal allowance, limited to the basic rate of income tax, for all married couples and couples in civil partnerships with children under the age of six; [312934]
(2) if he will estimate the cost to the Exchequer in each financial year from 2010-11 to 2013-14 of introducing a transferable personal allowance, limited to the basic rate of income tax, for all married couples and couples in civil partnerships with children under the age of three; [312935]
(3) if he will estimate the cost to the Exchequer in each financial year from 2010-11 to 2013-14 of introducing a transferable personal allowance, limited to the basic rate of income tax, for all couples with children under the age of six; [312936]
(4) if he will estimate the cost to the Exchequer in each financial year from 2010-11 to 2013-14 of introducing a transferable personal allowance, limited to the basic rate of income tax, for all couples with children under the age of three. [312937]
(5) if he will estimate the cost to the Exchequer in each financial year from 2010-11 to 2013-14 of introducing a transferable personal allowance, limited to the basic rate of income tax, for all married couples and couples in civil partnerships. [312943]
Mr. Timms [holding answers 25 and 28 February 2010]: Due to the complex nature of these questions the following estimates should be treated with caution. These estimates exclude any behavioural response to the change, which could be significant given the magnitude of the change. This has the additional implication of limiting reliable modelling of costs to 2010-11.
The estimated cost in 2010-11 of allowing personal tax allowances to be transferable, limited to the basic rate of income tax, for the specified groups would be:
£0.6 billion for all couples with children under the age of three;
£1.0 billion for all couples with children under the age of six;
£0.5 billion for all married couples and couples in civil partnerships with children under the age of three;
£0.8 billion for all married couples and couples in civil partnerships with children under the age of six;
£4.2 billion for all married couples and couples in civil partnerships.
These estimates have been calculated using HM Treasury's tax and benefit micro-simulation model using Family Resources survey 2007-08 data.
Taxation
Mr. Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many self-assessment forms required clerical action in (a) 2006, (b) 2007, (c) 2008 and (d) 2009; and for what reasons a self-assessment case may require clerical action. [316950]
Mr. Timms: Information on the circumstances in which clerical action may be required on a self-assessment (SA) return is contained in Her Majesty Revenue and Customs' SA instruction manual, available at:
The information requested on how many self-assessment returns required clerical action is available only at disproportionate cost as HMRC's systems do not capture this.
Taxation: Business
Jim Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the (a) number of companies which have taken up the three-year carry-back of losses option since its implementation and (b) monetary value of trading losses carried forward under section 393 of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988 in (i) 2007-08, (ii) 2008-09 and (iii) 2009-10. [319335]
Mr. Timms: In addition to the unincorporated businesses it has supported, HM Revenue and Customs estimated that approximately 11,000 companies have so far used the temporary extension of loss carry-back for trading losses from one year to three years for losses up to £50,000.
The information requested on the pools of trading losses carried forward are available only at disproportionate cost, as they are not directly available from the 'C7 600 Company Self Assessment Return'.
Valuation Office Agency: Internet
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on how many occasions the Valuation Office Agency's public website has been offline in the last 12 months. [319634]
Ian Pearson: The Valuation Office Agency's public website has had no unscheduled downtime in the last 12 months. It was offline for scheduled maintenance between 08:00 on 30 May 2009 to 18:00 on 31 May 2009 and 08:00 on 21 November 2009 to 18:00 on 22nd November 2009.
Valuation Office Agency: Manpower
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many and what proportion of the Valuation Office Agency's (a) staff and (b) council tax inspectors are (i) male and (ii) female. [319629]
Ian Pearson: The proportion of the Valuation Office Agency's staff who are male is 55 and 45 are female. Within the generic rating and council tax inspector role, 49 are male and 51 female. These figures are based on data as at 2 February 2010
Valuation Office Agency: North East
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many Valuation Office Agency staff in offices in (a) the north-east and (b) north Lincolnshire worked on the separate rating of port businesses in each year since 1997. [319448]
Ian Pearson: The VOA does not keep records of the number of staff involved in the assessment of separate hereditaments within statutory ports going back to 1997. Staff involved in work on the ports undertake general rating work in other locations and work in other business streams.
VAT: Local Government
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst of 11 January 2010, Official Report, column 783W, on VAT: local government, how much was paid in value added tax refunds to local authorities consequent on judicial rulings in (a) 2007-08 and (b) 2008-09. [319643]
Mr. Timms: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) currently estimates that around £2 million was repaid in 2007-08 to local authorities and around £40 million in 2008-09 in respect of the judgment in Fleming/Conde Nast. HMRC does not routinely collect information on the overall level of refunds to local authorities as a result of litigation rulings.
Welfare Tax Credits: Aberdeenshire
Mr. Salmond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many individuals in Banff and Buchan constituency receive tax credits; and what the average weekly level of such credits was in the latest period for which figures are available. [319345]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The latest information on the number of households benefiting from tax credits, by each parliamentary constituency, is available in the HMRC snapshot publication "Child and Working Tax Credits Statistics. Geographical Analyses. December 2009", available:
As incomes and entitlements for 2009-10 have yet to be finalised, equivalent information on the average weekly payment is not yet available. The latest information on the average annual payment of tax credits to households, by each parliamentary constituency, is available in the HMRC publication "Child and Working Tax Credits Statistics Finalised annual awards. Geographical analyses 2007-08", available at:
Welfare Tax Credits: Glasgow
Mr. Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people in Glasgow North East constituency have received (a) child tax credit and (b) working tax credit since 2004. [319971]
Mr. Timms: The latest information on the number of households benefiting from tax credits, by each parliamentary constituency from 2003 to 2009, is available in the HMRC snapshot publication "Child and Working Tax Credits Statistics. 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 December 2009, are available in the HMRC snapshot publication "Child and Working Tax Credits Statistics. Geographical analyses. December 2009", at the same internet address.
HMRC do not produce these statistics separately for child tax credit and working tax credit.
Welfare Tax Credits: Na h-Eileanan an Iar
Mr. MacNeil: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people were in receipt of tax credits in Na h-Eileanan an Iar constituency in the latest period for which figures are available; and what the average weekly payment in such credits was in that constituency in that period. [319018]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The latest information on the number of households benefiting from tax credits, by each parliamentary constituency, is available in the HMRC snapshot publication "Child and Working Tax Credits Statistics. Geographical Analyses. December 2009", available at:
As incomes and entitlements for 2009-10 have yet to be finalised, equivalent information on the average weekly payment is not yet available. The latest available information on the average annual payment of tax credits to households, by each parliamentary constituency, is available in the HMRC publication "Child and Working Tax Credits Statistics Finalised annual awards. Geographical analyses 2007-08", available at:
Work and Pensions
Carers' Benefits
Mr. Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in what circumstances an asset owned by a carer in receipt of the carer's allowance may be disregarded for the purposes of an application for income support. [318143]
Jonathan Shaw: Carers are treated in the same way as other income support customers when considering the effect an asset has on income support.
Income support has a lower capital limit of £6,000 (or £10,000 for people permanently living in a care home) above which benefit is reduced and an upper limit of £16,000 above which benefit cannot be paid.
The value of most forms of capital, which includes savings and assets, is counted when calculating entitlement to income support; however, some forms of capital asset are disregarded. Income support rules on treatment of capital are extensive but the most common scenarios are covered as follows.
All personal possessions belonging to an income support customer are disregarded with the exception of those acquired by the customer with the intention of reducing savings in order to secure entitlement to, or increase the amount of, income support.
Certain forms of cash asset are disregarded when calculating entitlement to income support, for example, money derived from a personal injury compensation payment that is held in a trust fund. In addition certain other compensation payments are ignored such as payments to the customer made as a result of a person's imprisonment by the Japanese during the second world war and payments made to compensate for slave or forced labour during the second world war. Other types of cash asset can also be ignored, for example, certain lump sum payments for arrears of benefit and payments made by specific trusts and funds that have been set up in order to help people who have been infected by blood products.
No account is taken of the value of a property that a person occupies as their home, while the value of any second property is normally treated as capital. However, the Government do recognise that there are certain circumstances where it would be impractical and unfair to take the value of a second property into account. An example of this is that, once a property is put up for sale, the value can be ignored for up to 26 weeks, or longer where reasonable steps are being taken to sell it.
Departmental ICT
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much her Department has allocated for the (a) procurement, (b) maintenance, (c) compliance testing and (d) security of information technology systems in 2010-11. [313375]
Jim Knight: The information is not held centrally in the format requested and therefore cannot be provided.
Departmental Internet
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many designs for its website her Department has commissioned since 2005. [318638]
Jonathan Shaw: The Department has commissioned one redesign for the DWP Corporate website since 2005. This redesign was launched in June 2009.
Departmental Manpower
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate she has made of the proportion of staff of (a) her Department and (b) its agencies managed out in the last five years who remain working in the public sector. [313845]
Jonathan Shaw:
The Department and its agencies do not hold information on the employment of former
staff after they leave the Department and no estimate has been made of how many remain working in the public sector.
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