§ Mr. Ralph Howellasked the Prime Minister how much income tax is paid by persons who (a) earn under £5,000 per year, (b) earn below national average earnings and (c) earn under £10,000 per annum; how many taxpayers there are in each group; what is the total amount of the revenue raised from each sector; and what percentage of the total income tax revenue each group represents.
§ The Prime MinisterProvisional estimates of the tax due in respect of income in 1983–84 are as follows. The figures are based on projections from the latest available survey of personal incomes. The first two columns of the table include only taxpayers with some income from wages and salaries. The rows of the table are defined by reference to total income.
The armed forces are planned to remain at about 342,000 throughout 1984–85. Figures beyond 1985 are subject to review.
NHS manpower stood at 995,000 whole-time equivalent staff at March 1983. Targets have been set for 1983–84 to achieve a reduction of just over 0.5 per cent. The Secretary of State for Social Services intends to continue to improve manpower and control in the NHS.
Local authority manpower in Great Britain fell by 4 per cent. between June 1979 and March 1983 from 2,360,749 to 2,265,230 (full-time equivalents). But I am concerned that manpower in England and Wales in September was 0.5 per cent. higher than in September 1982. Central Government have no direct control over local authority manpower, but expenditure on manpower accounts for about two thirds of current expenditure by local authorities. Rate support grant settlements for 1984–85 incorporate tough expenditure guidance which will require further economies in costs, including manpower.