To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost of administering (a) the PAYE system, (b) the child tax credit system and (c) the working tax credit system was in each of the last three years. (241562)

[holding answer 9 December 2008]: The information is as follows:

(a) The costs of collecting Income Tax through PAYE in each of the last three years are shown in the following table:

(b) and (c) The costs of managing and paying child and working tax credit for the last three years are set out in Notes 3.4 and 3.5 of the Trust Statement to HM Revenue and Customs Accounts for 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08.