§ Mr. WebbTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the average weekly amount of council tax, net of council tax benefit, paid by(a) all pensioner households and (b) pensioner households whose taxable income is below the income tax threshold. [137692]
§ Ruth KellyThe information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Average weekly amount of Council Tax paid by (a) all single and couple pensioner households and (b) all single and couple pensioner households who did not report paying income tax1 for 2001–02: Great Britain £Per week Single and Couple Pensioner households Average net council tax Average council tax benefit Average gross council tax All single and couple pensioner households 10.90 2.80 13.60 All single and couple pensioner households who did not report paying Income Tax 5.70 6.10 11.80 1Income Tax is net of tax relief at source on life assurance premiums
§ Mr. Edward DaveyTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much council tax was paid as a proportion of gross incomes for households in each income quintile group in each English region for the last year for which data are available. [138147]
§ Ruth KellyThe information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Colin Mowl to Mr. Edward Davey, dated 17 November 2003:
The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question asking how much council tax was paid as a proportion of gross incomes for households in each income quintile group in each English region for the latest year for which data is available. I am replying in his absence. (138147)
Estimates in the following table are produced from the Office for National Statistics' analysis "The effects of taxes and benefits on household income" produced by the ONS and published on the
520WLetter from Len Cook to Mr. Steve Webb, dated 17 November 2003:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking for the average weekly amount of council tax and net council tax benefit paid by all pensioners, and pensioners whose taxable income is below the income tax threshold. (137692)
Estimates for council taxes are based on the analysis "The effects of taxes and benefits on household income 2001–02" produced by the ONS and published on the National Statistics website on October 21st 2003. The analysis can be obtained from the House of Commons Library or from the National Statistics website at http://www.statistics.gov.uk/taxesbenefits. It includes measures of income inequality for the United Kingdom as a whole based on data from the Expenditure and Food Survey. This is a sample survey covering about 7,500 households in the UK and sample sizes for pensioner households are only sufficient to give approximate estimates. The Family Resources Survey would have been an alternative source with a larger sample size, but the taxes and benefits analysis has been used for consistency with answers to other recent parliamentary questions.
Pensioner households have been defined as those where the Household Reference Person is retired or unoccupied and aged 65 or more and male, or 60 years of age or more and female, and economically inactive.
Detailed information on the definition of the Household Reference Person can be found in Appendix D of the document at the following address: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/ downloads/theme_social/Family_Spending_2001–02_revised/Family_ Spending_revised.pdf
Estimates for 2001–02 are shown in the following table for all pensioner households (single and couples) in Great Britain and for those who did not pay income tax (i.e. their reported income tax was zero). Council tax is not paid in Northern Ireland. The survey does not record the income tax threshold of household members so the absence of recorded income tax has been used as the relevant measure. Net council tax is defined as gross council tax less benefits and discounts, where a household reports taking up a council tax benefit entitlement.
National Statistics website on October 21st 2003. The analysis can be obtained from the House of Commons Library or from the National Statistics website at http://www.statistics.gov.uk/ taxesbenefits. It includes measures of income inequality for the United Kingdom as a whole based on data from the Expenditure and Food Survey. This is a sample survey covering about 7,500 households in the UK and sample sizes for each region are only sufficient to give approximate estimates. The Family Resources Survey would have been an alternative source with a larger sample size, but the taxes and benefits analysis has been used for consistency with answers to other recent parliamentary questions.
The table shows, for 2001–02, the average net council tax paid for all households in each Government Office Region and for each income quintile group within each region where households are ranked by equivalised disposable income. Equivalisation is a standard methodology that takes into account the size and composition of households and adjusts their incomes to recognise differing demands on resources. The net council tax figures are gross council tax less reported council tax benefits and discounts. The table also shows the boundaries between equivalised disposable income quintiles, which have been calculated 521W separately for households in each Government Office Region. For example, the 1st quintile boundary is the income level below which one fifth of those households are estimated to lie. The results are
Net council tax paid by households within each Government Office Region by equivalised disposable income quintile, 2001–02: England North East North West and Merseyside Yorkshire and the Humber Quintile Income boundary1(£) Net council tax (£) Net council tax as % of gross income Income boundary1(£) Net council tax (£) Net council tax as % of gross income Income boundary1(£) Net council tax (£) Net council tax as % of gross income Bottom 242 3.1 397 4.7 373 4.0 8,838 9,805 9,941 2nd 419 3.4 430 3.4 372 2.9 12,551 13,187 13,353 3rd 502 2.6 656 3.3 525 2.7 17,838 17,667 17,646 4th 707 2.3 755 2.7 647 2.4 25,843 24,065 23,660 Top 872 1.5 938 1.8 846 1.7 All households in region 548 2.2 635 2.6 553 2.3 1 Boundary point between equivalised disposable income quintiles Source:
Office for National Statistics, based on the analysis 'The effects of taxes and benefits on household income'.
Net council tax paid by households within each Government Office Region by equivalised disposable income quintile, 2001–02 (continued): England East Midlands West Midlands Eastern Quintile Income boundary1(£) Net council tax (£) Net council tax as %of gross income Income boundary1(£) Net council tax (£) Net council tax as % of gross income Income boundary1(£) Net council tax (£) Net council tax as % of gross income Bottom 482 5.2 424 4.8 467 5.3 10,265 9,829 10,977 2nd 555 3.5 430 3.4 530 3.4 14,708 13,721 16,010 3rd 675 2.8 604 2.7 722 2.7 19,597 17,811 22,095 4th 724 2.3 777 2.3 779 2.1 26,737 25,179 30,016 Top 785 1.4 781 1.5 891 1.4 All households in region 644 2.4 603 2.3 678 2.2 1 Boundary point between equivalised disposable income quintiles Source:
Office for National Statistics, based on the analysis 'The effects of taxes and benefits on household income'.
Net council tax paid by households within each Government Office Region by equivalised disposable income quintile, 2001–02 (continued): England London South East South West Quintile Income boundary1(£) Net council tax (£) Net council tax as % of gross income Income boundary1(£) Net council tax (£) Net council tax as % of gross income Income boundary1(£) Net council tax (£) Net council tax as % of gross income Bottom 443 4.6 477 4.8 474 5.4 11,432 12,550 10,609 2nd 567 3.1 637 3.3 565 3.8 17,512 18,002 14,441 3rd 746 2.2 748 2.5 683 3.0 25,609 24,649 19,341 4th 790 1.7 826 1.9 748 2.5 37,913 35,184 26,281 Top 886 1.0 986 1.3 890 1.5 All households in region 686 1.7 735 2.0 672 2.5 1 Boundary point between equivalised disposable income quintiles Source:
Office for National Statistics, based on the analysis 'The effects of taxes and benefits on household income'.