§ Simon HughesTo 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 London for the latest year for which data is available. [135162]
§ Ruth KellyThe information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Simon Hughes, dated 30 October 2003:
As National Statistician, I have 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 London for the latest year for which data is available. (135162)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 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.The table shows, for 2001–02, the average net council tax paid for all households in London and for each income quintile group 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 separately for London households. For example, the 1st quintile boundary is the income level below which one fifth of those households are estimated to lie. The results are subject to a degree of uncertainty due to increased sampling variability arising from small sample sizes.
Net council tax paid by households within London by equivalised disposable income quintile, 2001–02 London Quintile Income boundary1(£) Net council tax (£) Net council tax as percentage of gross income Bottom 443 4.6 11,432 2nd 567 3.1 17,512 3rd 746 2.2 25,609 4th 790 1.7 37,913 Top 886 1.0 All households 686 1.7 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', published on the ONS website.
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