§ Richard BurdenTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on his actions since the statement of 28 April 2003,Official Report, column 53, to overcome delays in the processing of tax credit claims and on the progress of his Department on the matter. [114903]
§ Dawn PrimaroloOver 4 million claims for the new tax credits have now been received. This is in addition to the 1.3 million families who will get the benefit of the increased generosity of the Child Tax Credit through IS/JSA this year.
Around 3.5 million awards are already in payment. This includes the 2 million families opting to get their money every 4 weeks, who were sent their first payment of tax credits by Friday 2 May as planned.
§ Lynne JonesTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the administrative cost has been of introducing each tax credit; and what his estimate is of the annual administration cost for each of the current tax credits(a) in cash terms and (b) as a percentage of the payments made. [114973]
§ Dawn PrimaroloA broad estimate of the annual cost of administering the child and working tax credits appears in the Regulatory Impact Assessment, published on 15 July 2002; it represents approximately 2 per cent. of the total forecast annual expenditure on these tax credits.
§ Lembit ÖpikTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people in(a) Montgomeryshire and (b) Wales are eligible to receive (i) child tax credit and (ii) working tax credit; and how many are receiving them. [115065]
§ Dawn PrimaroloIt is estimated that 320,000 families are expected to receive the child tax credit and 80,000 families are expected to receive the working tax credit in Wales (including some who are also expected to receive the child tax credit).
Statistics on awards of these tax credits will be published in August.
§ Mr. WillettsTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many employers are paying the working tax credit to one or more of their employees. [114415]
§ Dawn PrimaroloThe total number of employers paying tax credits is expected to be around 300,000 during any one year, broadly the same as for the Working Families" and Disabled Person"s Tax Credits.
§ Mr. WillettsTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people are receiving the working tax credit. [114416]
§ Dawn PrimaroloStatistics on Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit awards will be published in August.