§ Siobhain McDonaghTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the impact of the increase in the Working Families Tax Credit on families in Northern Ireland. [117429]
§ Mr. Timms30,722 families in Northern Ireland had been awarded the Working Families Tax Credit by the end of February 2000. In addition, 4,351 families were still on Family Credit at that date. The sum of these two figures is more than 5,000 higher than the number of Northern Ireland families with Family Credit awards current at August 1999.
For the United Kingdom as a whole it is expected that families will get £24 per week more on average under the Working Families Tax Credit than under Family Credit. This includes families who would not have qualified for Family Credit.
§ Mr. William RossTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families are receiving Working Families Tax Credit in Northern Ireland; of these how many he estimates are farming families; and what percentage of farming families in Northern Ireland this represents. [116358]
§ Mr. Timms30,722 families in Northern Ireland had been awarded the Working Families Tax Credit by the end of February 2000. Of these, 1,149 were awards to families where the main earner was classified to the Standard Occupation Code "Farmer". It is not known how many families with children in Northern Ireland have a farmer as their main earner.