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Medical Insurance
Mr. Loughton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of medical insurance policies held by the over-60s which have not been renewed since the abolition of tax relief. [117715]
Miss Melanie Johnson [holding answer 4 April 2000]: None. There is no reliable information available to the Government about renewals by the over-60s of their private medical insurance policies for any period since the tax relief was abolished in 1997.
Income Tax Rates
Mr. Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many taxpayers in 2000-01 he estimates will have a marginal income tax rate of (a) 10 per cent., (b) 22 per cent. and (c) 40 per cent.; what proportion of each of these groups works (i) part-time and (ii) full-time; if he will set out the calculations underlying his answer; and if he will make a statement. [117826]
Miss Melanie Johnson [holding answer 6 April 2000]: The table gives the figures requested for 2000-01.
| Percentage working | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Marginal income tax rate | Number of taxpayers (million) | Full-time (17) | Part-time (17) |
| 10 per cent. | 2.7 | 12 | 56 |
| 22 per cent.(18) | 22.6 | 66 | 12 |
| 40 per cent.(19) | 2.7 | 89 | 5 |
(17) Those working full-time or part-time include both employees and the self-employed
(18) Includes taxpayers whose marginal rate is the lower rate on savings income or the ordinary dividends rate
(19) Includes taxpayers whose marginal rate is the higher dividends rate
These estimates are based on the Survey of Personal Incomes and Family Expenditure Survey and are consistent with the March 2000 Budget.
Industrial and Provident Societies
Dr. Naysmith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what assessment he has made of the responses to
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the recent consultation exercise on the Industrial and Provident Societies Acts; and for what reasons the results have not yet been published; [118200]
- (2) if, after discussions with the Co-operative Movement are completed, he intends to propose amendments to the Industrial and Provident Societies Acts. [118201]
Miss Melanie Johnson: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Edmonton (Mr. Love) on 20 March 2000, Official Report, column 446W.
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SOCIAL SECURITY
Family Statistics
Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many single parents in (a) 1970, (b) 1980 and (c) 1999 were in receipt of social security benefits, excluding child benefit or its equivalent; and what was (i) the cost of such benefits and (ii) the proportion of the total social security budget which they constituted in each of these years. [117534]
Angela Eagle: The information is in the table.
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| 1970 | 1980 | 1999 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benefit: | |||
| Income Support (Supplementary Benefit in 1970 and 1980) | 191,000 | 316,000 | (20)1,030,000 |
| Jobseeker's Allowance (Income based) | n/a | n/a | 14,000 |
| Housing Benefit(21) | n/a | n/a | 1,016,000 |
| Family Credit (Family Income Supplement in 1971 and 1980) | 15,000 | 52,000 | (22)405,000 |
| Widowed Mothers Allowance(23) | 100,000 | 79,000 | 47,000 |
| Annual cost (24) (£ billion) | 1.1 | £1.4 | 9.1 |
| Proportion of DSS budget (percentage) | 3 | 3 | 9 |
(20) This is the number of "single Income Support claimants with dependants". Therefore this figure includes some who are claiming Income Support (IS) due to disability or being over pension age as well as those claiming IS due to being a lone parent.
(21) Figures for Housing Benefit are for 1998. The current Housing Benefit scheme was introduced in 1988. Prior to 1988 figures were not collected separately for lone parents and so they have not been included in the table.
(22) Figures for Family Income Supplement are for 1971 and 1980. Figures for Family Credit (FC) only go up to September 1999. From October 1999, FC was replaced by Working Families Tax Credit.
(23) Figures for Widowed Mothers Allowance (WMA) are for December 1971, November 1981 and March 1999.
(24) The expenditure figures are given in real 1999-2000 prices. They are based on 1970-71, 1980-81 and 1999-2000 with the following exceptions: WMA is based on 1971-72 and 1981-82. FIS is based on 1981-82 and FC refers to 1998-99 (ie the last full year of FC). Therefore the proportion of expenditure for 1970-71, 1980-81 and 1999-2000 are approximate figures.
Notes:
1. Estimates of the numbers on benefit are based on 1 per cent. and 5 per cent. scans of benefit computer systems. These scans select 1 per cent. or 5 per cent. of the relevant cases and so are subject to some degree of sampling error.
2. Figures have been rounded to the nearest thousand.
3. Some lone parents will be in receipt of other benefits such as IB, SDA or Industrial Injuries Benefit. We have not included them in this table, as we cannot separately identify lone parents on the computer systems for these benefits.
4. Figures cannot be added together as some cases will be in receipt of more than one of these benefits.
Sources:
1. Income Support: Income Support Quarterly Statistical Enquiry, November 1999.
2. Supplementary Benefit: Supplementary Benefit Annual Statistical Enquiries.
3. JSA (IB): Jobseeker's Allowance Quarterly Statistical Enquiry, November 1999.
4. Family Credit: Family Credit Quarterly Statistical Enquiry, August 1999.
5. Widowed Mothers Allowance: 5 per cent. sample of Pension Strategy Computer System, March 1999.
6. Housing Benefit: Housing Benefit Management Information System, annual 1 per cent. sample inquiry, taken as at the second Thursday of May 1998.
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Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what proportion of households headed by a single mother are currently in receipt of (a) housing benefit, (b) other social security benefits, excluding child benefit, (c) income support, (d) social security loans and (e) free school meals. [117531]
Angela Eagle: The information is in the table.
| Proportion of all lone mothers in receipt | |
|---|---|
| Housing Benefit | 59 |
| Other Social Security Benefits | 28 |
| Income Support | 60 |
| Social Fund Loans | 24 |
| Free School Meals | (25)-- |
(25) Information for free school meals is not available by family type.
1. Estimates of the numbers on benefit are based on 1 per cent. and 5 per cent. scans of benefit computer systems. These scans select 1 per cent. or 5 per cent. of the relevant cases and so are subject to some degree of sampling error.
2. The proportions have been calculated using departmental forecasts of the number of lone parents. Figures have been rounded to the nearest percentage point.
3. Some lone parents will be in receipt of other benefits such as Incapacity Benefit, Severe Disability Allowance or Industrial Injuries Benefit. We have not included them in this table, as we cannot separately identify lone parents on the computer systems for these benefits. Other benefits is defined to include Jobseeker's Allowance (Income Based) (JSA(IB)), Widowed Mothers Allowance and Family Credit (FC).
4. Figures for FC only go up to September 1999. From October 1999, FC was replaced by Working Families Tax Credit.
5. The figures for the Social Fund exclude people with an outstanding loan, which they are not currently repaying.
1. Income Support: Income Support Quarterly Statistical Enquiry, November 1999.
2. JSA (IB): Jobseeker's Allowance Quarterly Statistical Enquiry, November 1999.
3. Family Credit: Family Credit Quarterly Statistical Enquiry, August 1999 Widowed Mothers Allowance: 5 per cent. sample of Pension Strategy Computer System, March 1999.
4. Housing Benefit: Housing Benefit Management Information System, annual 1 per cent. sample inquiry, taken as at the second Thursday of May 1998.
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Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many single parent households which were headed by a divorced woman were in receipt of social security benefits, excluding child benefit or its equivalent, in (a) 1970, (b) 1980 and (c) 1999; and what was the cost of such benefits in each of these years. [117533]
Angela Eagle: The information is not available in the format requested as, generally, statistics on the receipt of Social Security benefits can only be broken down into lone and couple claimants. Divorced claimants are not separately identified.
Such information as is available is as follows. In 1980, of 316,000 lone parents claiming Supplementary Benefit, 109,000 were recorded as being female divorced claimants with dependants. In May 1994, 161,000 female lone parents were divorced (17 per cent. of all female lone parents). Since May 1994 divorced claimants have not been separately identified in Income Support statistics.
Sources:
1. 1994: Income Support Quarterly Statistical Enquiry, May 1994.
2. 1980: Supplementary Benefit Annual Statistical Enquiry.
3. Caseloads have been rounded to the nearest 1,000.
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