To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people were in receipt of tax credits in Na h-Eileanan an Iar constituency in the latest period for which figures are available; and what the average weekly payment in such credits was in that constituency in that period. (319018)

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 at:

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 available 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