HC Deb 15 October 2002 vol 390 cc606-7W
Mrs. Irene Adams

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people are benefiting from(a) working families tax credits and (b) children's tax credits in Paisley, North. [73663]

Dawn Primarolo

For the number in receipt of the working families' tax credit, I refer my hon. Friend to my answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Jarrow (Mr. Hepburn) on 16 January 2002,Official Report, column 293W. Information about the children's tax credit (CTC) is not available by constituency. However, the number of families eligible for the CTC in Scotland is estimated to be 400,000.

Mrs. Irene Adams

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of this Department's measures to tackle poverty in Paisley, North. [73661]

Dawn Primarolo

Poverty is a complex multidimensional issue, affecting many aspects of children's lives—including income, health, housing, the quality of their environment and opportunities to learn. There is therefore no single measure of the number of families with children that have moved out of poverty in the Paisley North constituency.

However, it is possible to provide figures for take-up of some measures aimed at those on low-incomes for which my Right Honourable friend's departments are responsible. In February 2002 there were 1,888 Working Families Tax Credit recipients in Paisley North, compared with approximately one thousand Family Credit recipients in May 1997. In February 2002 there were 57 Disabled Person's Tax Credit recipients in Paisley North, compared with 22 Disability Working Allowance recipients in May 1997.