Working Families Tax Credit (Hansard, 9 February 2000)

§ Ms Kelly
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the additional cost to the Exchequer of providing the working families tax credit to couples with children if couples split their total earnings in half and the credit is calculated on each half. [104867]

§ Dawn Primarolo
The estimated expenditure on the Working Families Tax Credit for 2000–01, the first full year of the credit, is £4.7 billion. If each partner in a couple received the full amount of credits, and each had an award based on half the couple's earnings, the expenditure would increase to over three times this figure. Lone parents would be unaffected.

§ Mr. Kidney
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the numbers of families who will be(a) eligible to receive, (b) in receipt of and (c) receiving working families tax credit via their pay packet by October 2000. [107260]

§ Dawn Primarolo
Estimates for 2000–01, the first full year of the Working Families Tax Credit (WFTC), consistent with the Pre-Budget Report, are givenNumber of families in receipt of the Working Families Tax Credit—1.4 million Number of families receiving the Working Families Tax Credit through the wage packet—840,000
No estimate has been made of the total number of families eligible to receive WFTC through the wage packet.

§ Dr. Cable
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the impact on the total payments of Working Families Tax Credit of a national minimum wage of(a) £3.80 and (b) £4.00. [108371]

§ Dawn Primarolo
The estimated reductions in expenditure on the Working Families Tax Credit in 2000–01, the first full year of the credit, are given in the table. 215W

National minimum wage Reduction in expenditure (£ million)

£3.80 per hour 15

£4 per hour 30

These estimates do not take account of any consequential labour market behavioural effects and are on the basis of current national minimum wage rates.

§ Mr. Levitt
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer under what circumstances working families tax credit is available to people on full-time but term-time only employment contracts for the periods between terms. [109178]

§ Dawn Primarolo
Working Families Tax Credit (WFTC) may be available to people during the periods between terms either if they apply during term time and the 26-week period of the award spans the period between terms, or if they apply for the tax credit during the holiday period and they have on-going, "term-time only" contracts. WFTC is not available to people who apply for the tax credit during the period between terms, but whose contracts formally terminated at the end of the previous term.

§ Mr. Burgon
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps the Government are taking to publicise the working families tax credit in Northern Ireland. [107690]

§ Dawn Primarolo
The WFTC TV and press publicity campaign was launched in early September throughout England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and ran until the end of November. In Northern Ireland, television advertisements ran on Ulster TV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and a number of 'satellite' channels. Press advertisements ran in the Northern Irish press, the national newspapers and women's magazines.
In addition, I led a conference in Belfast for information providers to explain WFTC and DPTC, and provided a forum for questions and answers.
Local publicity included mailshots to relevant advisory bodies, followed up by presentations to voluntary and community groups.

National minimum wage	Reduction in expenditure (£ million)
£3.80 per hour	15
£4 per hour	30