§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to improve the training of staff who deal with inquiries from members of the public who wish to make a claim for Working Families Tax Credit; what research his Department has commissioned to measure the level of customer satisfaction with the service provided; and if he will make a statement. [109005]
§ Dawn PrimaroloChild Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit were introduced on 6 April 2003 to replace Working Families' Tax Credit, Disabled Person's Tax Credit and Children's Tax Credit.
Staff dealing with inquiries have received training covering all aspects of entitlement to Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit (including the child care element of the Working Tax Credit), as well as the mechanics of claiming and paying the new tax credits.
Tax credits recipients are included within the Inland Revenue's annual survey of customer service performance indicators.
Both training needs and levels of customer satisfaction are kept under constant review.
161W
§ Mr. WillettsTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much he expects to spend on overhead costs as a result of the introduction of the child and working tax credits in each year between 2002–03 and 2005–06. [106119]
§ Dawn PrimaroloThe overhead costs of administering the child and working tax credits are expected to be £300 million per annum in line with the Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA), published in July 2002.
§ Norman LambTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many complaints have been received in respect of the helpline for the child tax credit and working tax credit. [108062]
§ Dawn Primarolo[holding answer 8 April 2003]: Details of the number of complaints received in respect of the helpline are not held centrally.
§ Mr. GoodmanTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he has taken to publicise the take-up of tax credits on the internet; and if he will make a statement. [108803]
§ Dawn Primarolo[holding answer 11 April 2003]: The publicity campaign for the two new tax credits—child tax credit and working tax credit began in September 2002 followed by four further phases of advertising in October, November, January and March. These phases have included TV, radio, press and online advertising as well as direct mailings, posters and leaflets. The tax credit website was promoted in all activity, continuing the drive to encourage eligible claimants to claim online.
§ Simon HughesTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many applications were received for working families tax credit in each year since it was introduced; and if he will make a statement. [108825]
§ Dawn Primarolo[holding answer 11 April 2003]: Working families tax credit was introduced on 5 October 1999. The number of applications received in each year (April to March inclusive) was as follows:
Number of applications 1999–2000 1,270,000 2000–01 2,700,000 2001–02 2,950,000 2002–031 2,260,000 1 Awards terminating from 2 December 2002 were automatically extended to April 2003, so no applications were required to renew these awards.
§ Simon HughesTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how long it will take to reach a decision on applications for working families tax credit made in(a) January, (b) February, (c) March and (d) April 2003. [108828]
§ Dawn Primarolo[holding answer 11 Apri12003]: The Inland Revenue tries to process claims for tax credits as quickly as possible. But the date a decision is made depends on a number of factors other than the date on which the claim arrived, including whether the claimant provided all the information required, and whether the claim passed the various pre-award checks.
162W
§ Mr. WebbTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the number of child tax credit awards for 2003–04 that will need to be reassessed owing to(a) rises and (b) falls in income between (i) 2001–02 and (ii) 2003–04. [109151]
§ Dawn PrimaroloThe number of awards that are expected to be reassessed owing to rises in income above £2,500 and any falls in income are published in "The Child and Working Tax Credits". Copies are available on the HM Treasury website: http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk
§ Jon TrickettTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people he estimates in the Hemsworth constituency are eligible for the(a) child tax credit and (b) working tax credit; and how many people he estimates will take up these credits in 2003–04. [109898]
§ Dawn PrimaroloI refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Leeds, West (Mr. Battle) on 10 April 2003,Official Report, column 506W.
§ Mr. HowardTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many families are receiving(a) child tax credit and (b) amounts equivalent to child tax credit through income support or jobseeker's allowance and will be automatically transferred onto child tax credit before October 2004: [110241]
(2) what the take-up rate was for working families' tax credit in each year since 1999; what target he has set for the take-up rate for working tax credit; and what estimate he has made of the likely take-up rate of working tax credit. [110243]
§ Dawn PrimaroloWorking families tax credit (WFTC) replaced family credit (FC) on 5 October 1999.1999–2000 was therefore the transition year between FC and WFTC, and no estimates of the take-up rates of WFTC in that year are available. Estimates for 2000–01 are on the Inland Revenue website, at inlandrevenue.gov.uk/stats/wftc/takeup_rates.htm. No reliable estimates for 2001–02 can be attempted until the Family Resources Survey for that year is analysed.
From 6 April 2003 WFTC was replaced by child tax credit (CTC) and working tax credit (WTC). It is expected that around 1.35 million families with and without children will receive WTC. Statistics on CTC and WTC awards will be published quarterly, beginning in August 2003.
Around 1.3 million families with children are expected to benefit in 2003–04 from additional support for children though income support or jobseeker's allowance, until they move onto CTC in 2004.
§ Mr. WebbTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the basis is for his estimate that nine out of 10 families with children are eligible for the Child Tax Credit; and if he will make a statement on the number of families represented by this estimate. [109611]
§ Dawn PrimaroloThe basis for the estimate that nine out of 10 families with dependant children are eligible for the Child Tax Credit is the Family Resources Survey.