HC Deb 20 November 2003 vol 413 cc1331-2W
Mr. Drew

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the availability to the public of the Code of Practice 26 leaflet concerning what to do in the case of overpayments of tax credits. [140136]

Dawn Primarolo

The code can be found on the Inland Revenue website (www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/taxcredits).

Mr. Drew

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people have received a tax credit overpayment of more than(a) £1,000 and (b) £5,000; what plans there are for these sums to be repaid; and over what timescale. [140243]

Dawn Primarolo

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Northavon (Mr. Webb) on 12 November 2003,Official Report, column 394W.

Mr. Drew

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the advice that has been given to those people who have received a tax credit overpayment of over £5,000; and what alternative methods of repayment have been suggested to them. [140244]

Dawn Primarolo

Advice on the recovery of overpayments of tax credit is provided by the Inland Revenue's code of practice 26 "What happens if we have paid you too much tax credit?", which is on their internet site www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/taxcredits. A copy of the code has also been placed in the House Library.

Chris Ruane

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people benefited from the working family tax credit in each parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, listed in descending order. [140390]

Dawn Primarolo

I refer my hon. Friend to my answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Tyne Bridge (Mr. Clelland) on 13 January 2003,Official Report, column 412W.

Mrs. Liddell

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people are in receipt of the disabled person's tax credit in Airdrie and Shotts constituency. [140379]

Dawn Primarolo

Disabled Person's Tax Credit was replaced by Working Tax Credit in April 2003.

The number of families who received Working Families' or Disabled Person's Tax Credit in each local authority appears in "Working Families' and Disabled Person's Tax Credit Statistics. Geographical analyses".

The number of families who receive the new tax credits appear in "Child and Working Tax Credit Statistics—Geographical Analyses" and analyses of the disabled elements appear in "Child and Working Tax Credit Quarterly Statistics".

All three publications are available on the Inland Revenue website at http://www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/ stats/personal-tax-credits/menu. htm.

Mrs. Liddell

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps are being taken to increase the take up of child tax credit in Airdrie and Shotts constituency. [140380]

Dawn Primarolo

There are now 5.9 million families benefiting from the Child and Working Tax Credits meaning that, after just seven months, we have reached 98 per cent. of those families we expected to reach over a whole year. National Statistics show that, as at 11 July, there were 5,800 families in Airdrie and Shotts receiving Child or Working Tax Credit, including 5,700 families with children, containing 9,800 children.

A high-profile publicity campaign has been running since September 2002 to alert people to their entitlement to Child Tax Credit (and Working Tax Credit) and to encourage them to claim.

The campaign has so far included national television advertising, local radio advertising across the UK, adverts in the national press as well as on-line publicity and the use of direct mail.