§ Miss Richardsonasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give a more recent estimate than 1977 for the number of working families below the tax 640W threshold; and how many of these have Departmental Staff children.
§ Mr. Peter ReesA more recent estimate than 1977 is not available.
§ Mr. Fieldasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the average amount outstanding in Pay As You Earn and national insurance contribution which awaits collection from employers at any one time; and if he will estimate the average length of time between the collection from wages and salaries of these contributions and their payment to the Government.
§ Mr. Peter ReesOf the aproximately £2,400 million due nationally from employers on the monthly remittance date, the 19th, about one-third is outstanding on that date each month. It is not possible to provide a figure of the average amount awaiting collection at any other time of the month.
The average length of time during which the moneys are retained by employers varies with the frequency and incidence of employees' pay days. In the case of weekly paid employees, the period of retention will fall in the range of two to six weeks; with monthly paid staff it will average about three weeks.