§ Mr. MacShaneTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the distributional impact(a) of the children's tax credit and Working Families Tax Credit of £32 per week for a second adult and (b) if the CTC were reduced so that the cost to the Exchequer was the same as a £32 credit for a second adult. [118202]
§ Dawn PrimaroloAs given in the reply to my hon. Friend on 9 March 2000,Official Report, column 817W, based on the full year cost of the Working Families Tax Credit (WFTC), the cost of including an additional £32 per week within the credits for all couples already in receipt of WFTC would be about £1.3 billion before taking into account additional take-up and other behavioural effects. If the overall costs to the Exchequer were to remain the same, a cost of this magnitude could absorb the funding for the children's tax credit (CTC).
The £32 per week second adult credit would benefit all couples in receipt of the WFTC equally, whereas the CTC would benefit all families with children under 16 by up to £8.50 per week.