To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many individuals in Banff and Buchan constituency receive tax credits; and what the average weekly level of such credits was in the latest period for which figures are available. (319345)

The latest information on the number of households benefiting from tax credits, by each parliamentary constituency, is available in the HMRC snapshot publication “Child and Working Tax Credits Statistics. Geographical Analyses. December 2009”, available:

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-geog-dec09.pdf

As incomes and entitlements for 2009-10 have yet to be finalised, equivalent information on the average weekly payment is not yet available. The latest information on the average annual payment of tax credits to households, by each parliamentary constituency, is available in the HMRC publication “Child and Working Tax Credits Statistics Finalised annual awards. Geographical analyses 2007-08”, available at:

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-geog-payments-0708.pdf