§ Mr. Stephen O'BrienTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many calls were received by the working 907W families' tax credit and disabled person's tax credit dedicated telephone line for hon. Members and members of the devolved administrations in each year since its creation; and what the cost of the line has been in each year. [103519]
§ Dawn PrimaroloIn October 2000, the Inland Revenue introduced the dedicated Hotline numbers for queries from MPs and members of the devolved assemblies about working families' tax credit and disabled person's tax credit. For the remainder of the 2000–2001 financial year, there were 234 calls to the Hotline. In the 2001–2002 financial year there were 418
WFTC Oct 1999 to Dec 1999 WFTC Jan 2000 to Dec 2000 WFTC Jan 2001 to Dec 2001 WFTC Jan 2002 to Dec 2002 WFTC Jan 2003 to date Answered 1,037,915 6,115,528 5,882,380 6,060,443 813,187
DPTC Oct 1999 to Dec 1999 DPTC Jan 2000 to Dec 2000 DPTC Jan 2001 to Dec 2001 DPTC Jan 2002 to Dec 2002 DPTC Jan 2003— to date Answered 35,935 207,946 227,568 232,389 39,356 An estimate of the staffing cost of the line in each year is given in the table.
Period £000s 1/10/99 to 31/3/00 1,406 1/4/00 to 31/3/01 6,511 1/4/01 to 31/3/02 7,776 1/4/02 to 28/2/03 7,223
§ Mr. Stephen O'BrienTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his Department is spending on advertising the new(a) child tax credit and (b) working tax credit, with particular reference to (i) television advertising, (ii) radio advertising, (iii) leaflets, (iv) factsheets, (v) claim packs and (vi) A3 posters. [103526]
§ Dawn PrimaroloSpending on the promotional campaign for the new tax credits is currently estimated as follows: (i) media costs for:
(£000s) Television advertisements 8,016 Media costs for radio advertisements 876 Leaflets 642 Factsheets No costs to date A3 posters 21 The cost of producing claim packs is estimated at: 4,031,000 All estimated costs include VAT. Postage costs are not included.
§ Mr. Stephen O'BrienTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement regarding the take-up rate of the new(a) child tax credit and (b) working tax credit. [103527]
§ Dawn PrimaroloI refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given to the hon. Member for Havant (Mr. Willetts) on 19 March 2003,Official Report, column 760W.
908Wcalls. Between April 2002 and early March 2003, there have been 314 calls. Advisers on the Hotline also carry out a range of other customer service duties, and so it is not possible to isolate the cost of the Hotlines.
§ Mr. Stephen O'BrienTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many calls were received by the working families' tax credit and disabled person's tax credit public telephone line in each year since its creation; and what the cost of the line has been in each year. [103520]
§ Dawn PrimaroloThe schedule below gives details of the number of calls answered by the WFTC and DPTC helplines since they first opened.
§ Mr. WebbTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer by what means childless people have been alerted to their possible entitlement to claim working tax credit. [94020]
§ Dawn PrimaroloThe new tax credits—Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit—are introduced in April. A high-profile publicity campaign has been running since last autumn to alert people to their entitlement and to encourage them to claim. The campaign has so far included national television advertising, national and local radio advertising, adverts in the national press as well as on-line publicity. Treasury ministers led a series of roadshows across the United Kingdom in September and October. Leaflets and posters have been produced and are being made widely available. The Inland Revenue is also piloting new ways of working with local community groups to maximise take-up. At the same time Jobcentre Plus offices are making sure their clients are aware of the help they can get, through the Working Tax Credit, as they move into work.