The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-02-25.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the average change in tax credit awards was as a result of an increase in yearly household income above the income rise disregard in each financial year since 2006.
Damian Hinds
This answer could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-02-25.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 5 January 2016 to Question 20332, if he will place in the Library all case studies his Department undertook for the purpose of establishing the effect of reducing the income rise disregard for tax credits.
Damian Hinds
As announced in the combined Autumn Statement and Spending Review, the amount by which a tax credit claimant’s income can increase within the year before their tax credit award is adjusted (the income rise disregard), will be reduced from £5,000 to £2,500. The reduction to the income rise disregard will stop one family receiving a higher tax credit award over another family with precisely the same income and the same circumstances, which makes the system fairer. The household income of families before it rises will inform how they might be effected by a reduction in the income rise disregard.
The only people who will be affected are those who will see an income increase of more than £2,500 in-year.
Due to the way that tax credits are calculated, the amount an award will be adjusted by – because of an increase in income – will depend upon a claimant’s individual circumstances, such as the household’s income before it rises. No one will be a cash loser because their income will have increased. As an example, for an individual with a wage of £12,000, an income increase of £2,501 would lead to an adjustment in their tax credit award of just 41 pence. An increase of less than £2,500 would see no change at all.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-02-25.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 1.122 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, what estimate his Department has made of the average change in tax credit award as a result of reducing the income rise disregard for tax credits.
Damian Hinds
As announced in the combined Autumn Statement and Spending Review, the amount by which a tax credit claimant’s income can increase within the year before their tax credit award is adjusted (the income rise disregard), will be reduced from £5,000 to £2,500. The reduction to the income rise disregard will stop one family receiving a higher tax credit award over another family with precisely the same income and the same circumstances, which makes the system fairer. The household income of families before it rises will inform how they might be effected by a reduction in the income rise disregard.
The only people who will be affected are those who will see an income increase of more than £2,500 in-year.
Due to the way that tax credits are calculated, the amount an award will be adjusted by – because of an increase in income – will depend upon a claimant’s individual circumstances, such as the household’s income before it rises. No one will be a cash loser because their income will have increased. As an example, for an individual with a wage of £12,000, an income increase of £2,501 would lead to an adjustment in their tax credit award of just 41 pence. An increase of less than £2,500 would see no change at all.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Rotheram on 2016-02-25.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the potential effect on the economy of the UK leaving the EU.
Mr David Gauke
As the Chancellor has said, a UK exit from the EU would be a long, costly and messy divorce. The finance Ministers and central bank governors of the G20 concluded at the weekend that a British exit would cause an economic shock not just to the UK but to Europe and the world. What people are asking for in this referendum campaign is a serious, sober and principled assessment from the Government setting out the facts. The Treasury will publish a comprehensive analysis of our membership of a reformed EU and the alternatives, including the long-term economic costs and benefits of EU membership and the risks associated with an exit before 23 June.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-02-25.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the rate of pay is for cleaners in his Department.
Harriett Baldwin
The cleaning service at HM Treasury is provided by through a service contract, let by the landlord for 1 Horse Guards Road (Exchequer Partnership). HM Treasury does not directly employ cleaners.
However, the contracted cleaners that work within 1 Horse Guards Road are paid £9.15 per hour which will increase to £9.40 in April 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-02-25.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much his Department spent from the public purse on industrial tribunals in the last 12 months.
Harriett Baldwin
The cost of Employment Tribunals can be found within the HMCTS annual accounts published at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/433948/hmcts-annual-report-accounts-2014-15.pdf.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-02-25.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answers of 10 February 2016 to Question 26025 and 25 February 2016 to Question 27582, whether special advisors at his Department are included within the public sector one per cent pay rise limit.
Harriett Baldwin
I refer the Honourable member to the answer given my Rt Hon. friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office (26025)
Like any employer, HM Treasury does not discuss individual personnel matters, however details on the remuneration of Special Advisers appointed in the current Government and information on the remuneration of Special Advisers during the Coalition Government are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/special-adviser-data-releases-numbers-and-costs
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-02-25.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many consultants’ contracts were terminated early in each of the last six years for which figures are available; and what the cost of each such termination was in each of those years.
Harriett Baldwin
Since April 2011, the department has maintained a contracts database. A search of that database by the Crown Commercial Service has not identified any consultancy contracts that have been terminated early.
Prior to April 2011, the department did not hold a central record of contracts. To attempt to extract the information from local records would be at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-02-25.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether any of his Department’s advisors received a pay rise of more than one per cent in the last two financial years.
Harriett Baldwin
I refer the Honourable member to the answer given my Rt Hon. friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office (26025)
Like any employer, HM Treasury does not discuss individual personnel matters, however details on the remuneration of Special Advisers appointed in the current Government and information on the remuneration of Special Advisers during the Coalition Government are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/special-adviser-data-releases-numbers-and-costs
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-02-25.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) publications, (b) consultation documents and (c) circulars his Department has issued since August 2012; and what the title was of each such publication, consultation document or circular.
Harriett Baldwin
All Treasury consultations published since the department since 2010 can be found online at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications?departments%5B%5D=hm-treasury&publication_filter_option=consultations
This includes the consultation’s title.