§ Matthew TaylorTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) pursuant to his answer of 18 March 2003,Official Report, column 674, on council tax, whether the definition of gross council tax for Great Britain used is the same as that used for the local taxes line of the average income tax tables contained within the document "The effects of taxes and benefits on household income 2000–01"; [104751]
(2) to which parts of the UK the (a) domestic rates and (b) water charges element of the local taxes line of the average income tax tables contained within the document "The effects of taxes and benefits on household income 2000–01" are applicable. [104753]
§ Ruth KellyThe information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
336WLetter from Len Cook to Matthew Taylor, dated 27 March 2003:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on whether the definition of gross council tax for Great Britain, used in the answer to your question of 18th March in the Official Report, column 674, is the same as that used for the local taxes line contained within the document 'The effects of taxes and benefits on household income 2000–01'. In addition you asked to which parts of the UK the (a) domestic rates and (b) water charges elements of the local taxes line in the same document were applicable. (104751, 104753)The definition of gross council tax for Great Britain, used in the answer was the same as that used within the local taxes line of the tables contained within the document 'The effects of taxes and benefits on household income 2000–01.' However, the local taxes category used in the published tables for the United Kingdom includes council taxes, water and sewerage charges for England, Scotland and Wales and domestic rates in Northern Ireland.
§ Matthew TaylorTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will break down the figures for council tax as a percentage of gross income in his answer of 18 March 2003,Official Report, column 674, on council tax, into figures for (a) England, (b) Wales and (c) Scotland. [104752]
§ Ruth KellyThe information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Matthew Taylor, dated 27 March 2003:
337WAs National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question to the Chancellor of the Exchequer asking for a break down of the figures for council tax as a percentage of gross income for (a) England, (b) Wales and (c) Scotland, as given for Great Britain in the answer to your earlier question on 18th March in the Official Report, column 674. (104752)Estimates for council taxes and income are based on the analysis "The effects of taxes and benefits on household income 2000–01" produced by the ONS and published on the National Statistics website on April 19th 2002 and in Economic Trends in the May 2002 edition. The analysis can be obtained from the House of Commons library. This includes measures of income inequality for the United Kingdom as a whole based on data from the Family Expenditure Survey. Sample sizes for each country are only sufficient to allow a break down to be given by quintiles of income distribution and not by decile as given for Great Britain in the answer to your previous question.The following table shows the estimated gross and net council tax for all households in Great Britain and (a) England, (b) Scotland and (c) Wales, for each income quintile where households are ranked by equivalised disposable income. The net council tax figures are gross council tax less benefits and discounts. The table also shows the equivalised disposable income quintile point boundaries, which have been calculated separately for Great Britain and each country. For example, the 1st quintile point for each country is the income below which one fifth of households in that country lie.Council tax benefit is available to low income households to help them meet their local tax liability. The Family Expenditure Survey collects data on the amount of council tax benefit received by households who take up their entitlement. Where a household reports taking up their council tax benefit entitlement, this has been deducted from the council tax liability to produce the net figures.
Council tax as a percentage of gross income 2000–01 Great Britain Percentage Quintile groups of all households ranked by equivalised disposable income Bottom 2nd 3rd 4th Top All households Quintile points (equivalised disposable income £ per year) Great Britain 9,821 13,890 19,122 27,253 England 9,903 14,102 19,591 27,916 Scotland 9,468 12,842 17,051 23,892 Wales 9,182 12,191 16,316 21,067 Gross council tax Great Britain 7.0 4.3 3.0 2.3 1.5 2.6 England 7.1 4.3 2.9 2.2 1.5 2.5 Scotland 7.0 4.8 3.5 2.8 2.0 3.1 Wales 6.0 3.8 3.0 2.2 1.7 2.6 Net council tax1 Great Britain 4.2 3.3 2.7 2.2 1.5 2.2 England 4.3 3.3 2.7 2.1 1.4 2.2 Scotland 4.0 3.6 3.3 2.7 2.0 2.7 Wales 3.0 2.7 2.7 2.0 1.7 2.2 1 Net council taxes rates after deducting discounts Source:
Office for National Statistics, based on the analysis 'The effects of taxes and in Economic Trends No. 582 May 2002.