To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost to the public purse has been of implementing the (a) child tax, (b) working tax and (c) pension tax credit schemes since inception; and what the cost has been of recovering overpayments for each scheme. (136255)

The cost of introducing, managing and paying child and working tax Credits are published in note 3 of the trust statement to the Inland Revenue and HMRC annual report and accounts, for each year since their introduction. Information on payments of entitlement is also published in note 3 of the same publication, which is available on the HMRC website at:

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/about/annual reps.htm

The cost of recovering overpayments of child and working tax credits is not available centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Pension credit is not a tax credit.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many and what proportion of people who are eligible but not claiming tax credits have incomes which are at or above 60 per cent. of median income; (139794)

(2) what estimate he has made of the (a) number and (b) value of tax credit payments which would need to be made to increase the income of those people who are eligible for but not claiming such payments to 60 per cent. of median income. (139795)

[holding answer 4 June 2007]: Estimates for the number of in-work families who were eligible but not claiming tax credits, by income used to calculate entitlement, is presented in table 4 of the publication "Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit. Take-up rates. 2004-05." This is available on the HMRC website at:

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/takeup-rates2004-05.pdf

No estimate has been made yet, which is consistent with the published statistics on tax credits take-up, of the position within the household income distribution of those families who are eligible but not claiming tax credits.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the next set of data on tax credit take-up rates will be released; and what official releases of data in relation to tax credits there will be in each month from June 2007 to June 2008. (141428)

No release date has been set as yet for the publication of the 2005-06 tax credit take-up statistics.

Information on official release dates of HMRC Tax Credit National Statistic publications are detailed in the Annual Updating Plan, which is available on the HMRC website at:

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/updates/index.htm

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his latest estimate is of the potential annual saving from reducing the current tax credits disregard on income increases from £25,000 to zero; and if he will make a statement. (141485)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him on 22 February 2007, Official Report, column 851W.