To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) people, (b) people in work and (c) families in Woking constituency are in receipt of tax credits.

In the constituency of Woking there are:

4,900 families in receipt of tax credits.

7,200 people within these families.

3,900 people in work within these families.

Within this answer, ‘people’ have been defined as ‘adults’. A family can have one or two adults present.

A person in work is defined as an adult in a family eligible for working tax credit, who works 16 or more hours a week.

The Government is taking steps to ensure that spending on welfare is sustainable by making sure that work pays, while also supporting those most in need. It is rewarding work by:

raising the personal allowance to £9,440 and announcing a further increase to £10,000 from April 2014. The combined effect of all personal allowance increases announced by this Government will be to remove 2.7 million low income individuals, under 65, out of income tax altogether from April 2014; developing a new tax-free childcare scheme to expand support for affordable childcare to 2.5 million families; and introducing universal credit to make the benefits of work clearer and simpler, with the aim of offering a smooth transition into work and encouraging progression in work.