HC Deb 19 February 1968 vol 759 cc1-2W
21. Mr. Emery

asked the Minister of Labour what will be the total amount repaid by his Department under the Selective Employment Tax Act in 1968; and how this compares with the figure for 1967.

Mr. Hattersley:

Payment by my Department under the Selective Employment Payments Act 1966 are expected to amount to£552 million in 1968, compared with£655 million in 1967.

22. Mr. Emery

asked the Minister of Labour how many extra staff will be required in his Department during 1968 in order to ensure that Selective Employment payments are not made to employers who have not paid Selective Employment Tax.

Mr. Gunter:

The work of checking that selective employment payments are not made to employers who have not paid Selective Employment Tax is being extended. The new checks will involve no extra staff.

25. Mr. Kenneth Lewis

asked the Minister of Labour how many civil servants in his Department were wholly or partly employed in the administration of Selective Employment Tax and repayments during 1967.

Mr. Hattersley:

The equivalent of 478 full-time staff were employed on the administration of selective employment payments in 1967 on the average. It is not possible to say how many individual members of the staff were directly involved because much of the work is spread in small quantities throughout the Ministry's network of local offices.

62. Mr. Russell Johnston

asked the Minister of Labour what percentage of those employed in the service industries in Wales, England, Scotland and the planning regions of Scotland have moved to manufacturing industries since the introduction of the Selective Employment Tax.

Mr. Hattersley:

Employment estimates for the standard regions are analysed industrially in respect of June each year. Changes between June 1966 and June 1967 in the levels of employment in manufacturing and service industries in Wales, England and Scotland can be measured later this month when the 1967 estimates become available but changes for parts of standard regions, such as the planning regions of Scotland, cannot be measured until the local employment estimates for 1967 become available later in the year.

63. Mr. Maker

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is now able to announce the result of his review of classifications for the purposes of the Selective Employment Tax.

Mr. Hattersley:

I hope to be able to do so in the near future.