§ Mr. Alan CampbellTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what estimate he has made of the number of people in the Tynemouth constituency who will benefit from the disabled person's tax credit; [59008]
(2) what estimate he has made of the number of families in the Tynemouth constituency who will benefit from working families' tax credit. [59011]
§ Dawn PrimaroloI regret that estimates for individual constituencies are not available.
§ Mr. Malcolm BruceTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessments his Department has made of the risk of fraud and wage substitution in relation to the introduction of the working families tax credit; and if he will make a statement. [58277]
§ Dawn Primarolo[holding answer 9 November 1998]The Working Families Tax Credit (WFTC) will build on, and replace, Family Credit from October 1999 and it will help make more families better off in work than on benefit. WFTC will be administered by the Inland Revenue who have considerable experience and expertise in detecting and combating fraud.
The Revenue's compliance strategy is being designed with input from those currently involved in running Family Credit and countering fraud.
§ Mr. WebbTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what measures are proposed to ensure that employers do not claim working families tax credit and then fail to pass it on to their employees. [58973]
§ Dawn Primarolo[holding answer 9 November 1998]Employers will not be able to claim working families tax credit on behalf of their employees. They will pay the tax credit to their employees when notified by the Inland Revenue and they will generally set off the amount of tax credit against their tax and NICs liabilities. The Inland Revenue will put in place arrangements to monitor the operation of the new WFTC system.
§ Mr. WebbTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer where a claim form for the working families tax credit is issued if it will be addressed to the principal carer or to the worker in the couple. [58976]
§ Dawn Primarolo[holding answer 9 November 1998]Claim forms will be available from a number of sources but where they are sent out by the Inland Revenue they152W will generally be addressed to the person who requests it. In addition, claim forms will be sent to those who are approaching their renewal date.
§ Mr. WebbTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the average weekly gain from the introduction of the working families tax credit; and if he will provide a separate estimate for(a) homebuyers, (b) renters and (c) non-householders. [58596]
§ Dawn Primarolo[holding answer 9 November 1998]Estimates of the average weekly gain for those in receipt of the Working Families Tax Credit in Great Britain in 1999–2000 are given in the table. Estimates relate to gains in Working Families Tax Credit.
Average gain, £per week Owner Occupiers 19.50 Renters 15.10 Non-householders 17.00 Total 17.20
§ Mr. WebbTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer where a family opts not to receive the working families tax credit through the pay packet, by what means it will be delivered if the claimant does not have a bank account. [58975]
§ Dawn Primarolo[holding answer 9 November 1998]A couple will have the option of which one of them is to receive the Working Families Tax Credit. From April 2000, if the person who is to receive the WFTC is not in employment they will be paid directly by the Inland Revenue, who are looking at how this can best be done, including to those without bank accounts.