HC Deb 17 July 2002 vol 389 cc339-40W
Mr. Willetts

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much the advertising campaigns for(a) the working families tax credit, (b) the disabled person's tax credit, (c) the children's tax credit, (d) the child care tax credit and (e) the baby tax credit, have cost; and what the total annual spend on advertising each of these tax credits has been in each year since 1999–2000. [684781

Dawn Primarolo

The total campaign costs for tax credits are as follows.

£
Campaign Total campaign costs
1999–2000
Working families' tax credit 13,800,000
2000–01
Working families' tax credit 7,184,000
Disabled person's tax credit 219,000
Children's tax credit 7,161,000
2001–02
Working families' tax credit 2,546,000
Disabled person's tax credit 957,000
Children's tax credit 364,000

Note:

All figures include advertising, VAT and other promotional activity such as freephone helpline.

The 1999–2000 campaign costs for disabled person's tax credit were included within the working families' tax credit total campaign expenditure. The cost of obtaining a further breakdown of the total campaign costs between the two credits for that first year of their launch would be disproportionate.

The child care tax credit is a component of working families' and disabled person's tax credit and the baby tax credit is a component of the children's tax credit. Figures for child care tax credit and baby tax credit expenditure are not, therefore, accounted for separately.

For advertising costs alone I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Truro and St. Austell (Matthew Taylor) on 13 June 2002, Official Report, column 1394W.