§ Mr. WillettsTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many new child tax credit claims have been(a) refused and (b) investigated as potentially fraudulent. [121217]
§ Dawn PrimaroloThe numbers of inquiries into tax credit awards under Section 19 of the Tax Credits Act 2002, of penalties imposed and of prosecutions and convictions for offences connected with tax credits will be published in the annual report required under Section 40 of the Act.
138W
§ Mr. WebbTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many cases of tax credit fraud have been detected in each of the last six years; and how many resulted in successful prosecution. [124506]
§ Dawn PrimaroloThe Revenue tackle fraud, error and avoidance using civil investigation and settlement, and applying financial penalties where appropriate. Cases of suspected serious fraud are referred to the Revenue's Special Compliance Office, for civil investigation or prosecution as appropriate. The numbers of civil investigations of serious fraud completed by the SCO are:
Serious fraud cases settled 2001–02 308 2000–01 310 1999–2000 361 1998–99 315 1997–98 375 1996–97 394 Details of prosecutions by the Revenue are published in their Annual Reports, copies of which are available in the House Library.
Customs' policy in tackling VAT fraud is to use cost effective civil Procedures wherever possible. Investigation with a view to criminal prosecution is reserved for only th2, more serious or aggravated cases. The number of VAT fraud cases finalised by the imposition of a civil evasion penalty are:
Number of civil evasion penalties imposed 1996–97 849 1997–98 898 1998–99 902 1999–2000 860 2000–01 729 2001–02 346 Figures for 2002–03 will be published in Customs' Annual Report. The number of VAT fraud prosecutions is:
Completed prosecutions Successful prosecutions 1996–97 99 90 1997–98 70 65 1998–99 69 61 1999–2000 94 73 2000–01 37 25 2001–02—89 cases reported for prosecution.
Figures for the cases reported for prosecution in 2002–03 will be published in Customs' Annual Report.
§ Dr. KumarTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people who are eligible for each of the available tax credits have yet to apply; and how many(a) applications have been received from and (b) eligible applicants there are in (i) the Teesside region and (ii) the Middlesbrough, South and East, Cleveland constituency. [122225]
139W
§ Dawn PrimaroloSix million families are expected to benefit from the Child Tax Credit (CTC) or Working Tax Credit (WTC). I told the House on 7 July that claims had already been received from over 4.5 million families, that 4.25 million families were already in award and that 1.3 million were receiving equivalent support for their children through Income Support or income-based Jobseeker's Allowance. Since then, tax credit claims have continued to arrive.
No estimates are available of the number of individuals eligible for the Child or Working Tax Credit in each constituency. Statistics on awards of these tax credits will be published from August.
§ Mr. WebbTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many applications for(a) child tax credit and (b) working tax credit have (i) been received (ii) are in payment and (iii) are waiting to be processed. [122697]
§ Hywel WilliamsTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his latest estimate is of the number of outstanding claims for(a) working tax credit and (b) child tax credit for (i) Wales and (ii) the UK; and how many of these were submitted before 4 April. [123847]
§ John ThursoTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many applications for(a) child tax credit and (b) working tax credit (i) have been received, (ii) are in payment and (iii) are waiting to be processed, broken down by region. [124529]
§ Dawn Primarolo[holding answer 7 July 2003]: I refer the hon. Members to my statement to the House on 7 July 2003, Official Report, column 859.
Claims for Child and Working Tax Credits are made and processed together. No breakdown of the figures in my statement is available below the United Kingdom level. Statistics on awards of these tax credits will be published from August.
140W
§ Mr. WebbTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many complaints his Department has received relating to(a) child tax credit and (b) working tax credit. [122698]
§ John ThursoTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many complaints his Department has received relating to(a) child tax credit and (b) working tax credit, broken down by region. [124530]
§ Dawn PrimaroloThe information requested is not available.
§ John ThursoTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people who were receiving working families tax credit in March 2003(a) received payments of child tax credit by the end of April and (b) had not received their child tax credit by the end of April, broken down by region. [125431]
§ Dawn PrimaroloI refer the hon. Member to my statement to the House on 7 July 2003,Official Report, column 859.
§ Mr. CousinsTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many former recipients of the working families tax credit have been transferred to the(a) working tax credit and (b) child tax credit; how many new applications for (i) child tax credit and (ii) working tax credit (A) have been received and (B) are in payment. [125631]
§ Dawn PrimaroloI refer my hon. Friend to my statement to the House on 7 July 2003,Official Report, column 859, and to my answer to the hon. Member for Northavon (Mr. Webb) on 3 June 2003, Official Report, columns 379-80W. Claims for child and working tax credits are made and processed together. Statistics on awards of these tax credits will be published from August.