§ Ms SquireTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his latest estimate is of the number of(a) families in receipt of the Working Families Tax Credit, (b) families in receipt of the child tax credit and (c) people in receipt of the national minimum wage in each constituency in Scotland. [152463]
§ Dawn PrimaroloFor information on the Working Families Tax Credit, I refer my hon. Friend to my answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Lancaster and Wyre (Mr. Dawson) on 22 January 2001,Official Report, column 425W.
It is estimated that 400,000 families in Scotland will be eligible for the Children's Tax Credit, which is to be introduced for the tax year 2001–02 No reliable estimates are available for each constituency.
As to the information sought on the, national minimum wage, the national statistician has published estimates of the number of jobs paid at less than NMW rates for 1998, 1999 and 2000. These are based on an improved methodology using data from both the New Earnings Survey and Labour Force Survey. Estimates for the United Kingdom and Government office regions, including Scotland, are available on the national statistics website at: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/nsbase/themes/labour_market/nmw_lowpay_tables.asp No estimates are available for parliamentary constituencies.