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Taxation: Marginal Tax Rates
Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they accept the findings of the Institute for Fiscal Studies in its report on poverty published in October that 160,000 people in work face an effective marginal tax rate of at least 90 pence in the pound through loss of benefits and higher tax payments; and, if they do not accept the findings of this report, what is their estimate of the number of people so affected.[HL7930]
Lord McKenzie of Luton: Budget 2006 Table 4.2 provides estimates of the numbers of workers, who work more that 16 hours and therefore may qualify for the working tax credits, facing high marginal deduction rates (MDRs, or effective marginal tax rates). It shows that the numbers facing MDRs above 90 per cent have fallen from 130,000 in 1996-97 to 35,000 in 2006-07.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies report provides similar estimates although, as set out in the respective publications, there are some specific differences; for example they include individuals working a very few hours, and therefore are still eligible for out-of-work benefits such as income support. Previous analysis by the IFS suggests that the 1997 tax and benefit system had over 300,000 working parents with an MDR over 90 per cent. Their more recent analysis suggests that the number of working adults with MDRs over 90 per cent is now 160,000.
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Both publications provide reasonable analyses of the distribution of effective marginal tax rates for working adults under stated assumptions.
Taxation: Northern Ireland
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether civil servants of the Republic of Ireland living and working in Northern Ireland pay United Kingdom income tax.[HL8005]
Lord McKenzie of Luton: The double taxation convention signed between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland provides that in most circumstances, remuneration paid by either state to an individual for services rendered to that state shall be taxable only in that state. In general, civil servants of the Republic of Ireland living and working in Northern Ireland will not pay United Kingdom income tax on their earnings as a civil servant of the Republic of Ireland.
Taxation: Tax Benefit Model Tables
Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay asked Her Majesty's Government:
Why the Department for Work and Pensions has not yet published the 2006 Tax Benefit Model Tables, which were published in April in each of the past three years; and when they expect to do so.[HL7600]
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The Tax Benefit Model Tables (April 2006 edition) will be published on 31 October 2006.
Transport: National Lorry Road User Charging Scheme
Lord Bradshaw asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord McKenzie of Luton: The Government remain convinced that a distance-based charge is the right way ahead and are working on the potential shape and form of a national road pricing system. It was in the light of the progression toward national road pricing that the Government decided it would have made no sense to develop a system only for lorries, and that it was therefore right for the Government to take forward plans to develop a single comprehensive and cost-effective system that would include lorries alongside other road vehicles. The 5 July 2005 announcement by the then Secretary of State for Transport, Alistair Darling, reflected this.
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Water Management: S&T Report
Baroness Byford asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to paragraph 8.3 of their response to the House of Lords Science and Technology Select Committee report, Water Management (8th Report, HL Paper 191—I), with whom they will consult on the future of the Drinking Water Inspectorate; how long the consultation will last; and when the results of the consultation will be published.[HL7756]
The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Rooker): The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is currently holding discussions with the proposed receiving bodies, prior to consultation, with a view to determining what the advantages and disadvantages of a transfer would be in each case. A full public consultation will be held early next year. Allowing for the statutory 12-week consultation period, decisions will be taken by the middle of 2007, when a summary of consultation responses will be published on the Defra website.
Baroness Byford asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to paragraph 8.12 of their response to the House of Lords Science and Technology Select Committee report, Water Management (8th Report, HL Paper 191—I), whether they have powers that would enable them to declare payment for water bills to be more important than those for television, mobile phones, cars and credit cards to ensure that water companies are given a higher priority by the courts and advisers such as the citizens advice bureaux.[HL7758]
Lord Rooker: The Government do not have any powers to direct the courts or citizens advice bureaux to prioritise different kinds of bills. For people on benefit who have run up arrears, the Department of Work and Pensions’ third party deduction scheme makes statutory provision for an amount to be diverted from benefit direct to creditors for specified items of household expenses, including water costs. However, bills for other items mentioned by the noble
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Waterways: Canals
Lord Bradshaw asked Her Majesty's Government:
The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Rooker): Defra is having to operate within a tight financial regime. In recent months, it has had to face a number of new pressures, among them the need to develop its emergency preparedness in response to avian influenza and the introduction of a new payment scheme for farmers.
Defra has therefore asked its delivery bodies, including British Waterways, to accept reductions in grant in aid during 2006-07 to help it manage these pressures. Funding for 2007-08 is currently under review.
Waste Management
asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Rooker on 9 October (WA 122-3), what are the percentages of the United Kingdom emissions of dioxins and furans from all sources.[HL7702]
The UK National Atmospheric Emission Inventory (NAEI) provides a standard reference air emission inventory for a wide range of pollutants including dioxins emissions to air. The inventory can be found at www.naei.org.uk/.
The table below provides a summary of NAEI estimates of UK dioxin and furan emissions from each source category from 1990 to 2004. It also includes the estimated percent contribution from each source category to the total release of dioxins and furans to air for 2004, the most recent year for which statistics are available.
| UK Emissions of Dioxins and Furans by Source Category (g I-TEQ/year) | ||||||||
| Sector | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 |
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