HC Deb 20 March 2000 vol 346 cc440-2W
Mr. Cousins

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many students have achieved five grade A to C passes at GCSE at Westgate College, Newcastle, since the College was formed; what proportion of students at the College this represents; and what is the position of Westgate College among schools in(a) Newcastle, (b) the North East and (c) England ranked in descending order of achievement of five grades A to C at GCSE in the last three years. [115307]

Ms Estelle Morris

The proportion of 15-year-old pupils achieving 5 or more GCSE passes at grades A*— C at Westgate College, Newcastle are as follows:

Year Percentage
1994–95 6
1995–96 7
1996–97 8
1997–98 6
1998–99 10

The position of Westgate College among maintained schools in the last three years is as follows:

Dawn Primarolo

[holding answer 22 February 2000]: It is estimated that 3,300 families in Newcastle upon Tyne local authority have been awarded the Working Families Tax Credit by the end of January 2000. A further 1,300 families were stillin receipt of Family Credit giving a total of about 4,600 on either Working Families Tax Credit or Family Credit. The number of Family Credit cases in payment in earlier years is given in the table:

Family Credit cases in payment in Newcastle upon Tyne
Month/year Number
February 1997 4,200
February 1998 4,600
February 1999 4,300

Notes:

1. Figures are based on a 5 per cent. sample and are therefore subject to sampling error.

2. Figures have been rounded to the nearest hundred.

Mr. Field

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many claims and what percentage take-up of the working families tax credit he is assuming is necessary to meet his target of taking 800,000 children out of poverty. [113786]

Dawn Primarolo

[holding answer 9 March 2000]: The estimate that 800,000 children will be lifted out of poverty is based on the combined effect of the tax and benefit changes announced in the last two Budgets—in particular the introduction of the Working Families Tax Credit, the 10p starting rate of tax, the introduction of the Children's Tax Credit, reforms to National Insurance and increases in Child Benefit and child premia within Income Support.

For more detailed analysis behind this estimate I refer my right hon. Friend to the written answer which the Economic Secretary gave to the hon. Member for Northavon (Mr. Webb) on 14 April 1999, Official Report, columns 241–15W.

The Government estimate that around 1.4 million families will benefit from the WFTC. They will be on average £24 a week better off compared with Family Credit.

Mrs. Fyfe

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place in the Library the publicity material his Department has published, aimed at low-income families, to encourage take-up of working families tax credit. [114477]

Dawn Primarolo

[holding answer 14 March 2000]: A complete set of the relevant Working Families Tax Credit publicity material has been placed in the House of Commons Library.

Mrs. Fyfe

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will amend housing benefit regulations so as to increase the value of working families tax credit to low-income families. [114480]

Dawn Primarolo

[holding answer 14 March 2000]: The Working Families Tax Credit increases the take-home pay for around 1.4 million low income working families. The Government currently estimate that one in eight Working Families Tax Credit recipients will also be in receipt of Housing Benefit. By comparison, around one in three Family Credit recipients were receiving Housing Benefit.

Changes to Housing Benefit regulations are a matter for the Department of Social Security and the wider issues will be considered in the Housing Green Paper.

Increases in the child credits in the Working Families Tax Credit from April 2000 will be matched by increases in the child credits in income-related benefits. This means that all families receiving benefits will see the extra gain because Housing Benefit entitlement will not be affected.

Housing Benefit regulations are currently being amended to ensure that gains from the child care tax credit will be received in full by all eligible families because they are disregarded in Housing Benefit. The gains from the child care tax credit are particularly targeted on those on the lowest incomes who were not able to take advantage of the child care disregard in Family Credit.