Child and Working Tax Credit

May 2008

This article considers the numbers of people receiving Child Tax Credit (CTC) or Working Tax Credit (WTC) in Lancashire.

Anyone wishing to claim either of these two benefits should go directly to (External) Tax Credits page of the HM Revenue & Customs website .

The Working Tax Credit/Child Tax Credit helpline is 0845 300 3900 .

The information in this article has been obtained from the Child and Working Tax Credit Statistics report (geographic analyses) for April 2008, which can be downloaded from the (External) HM Revenue & Customs website (choose the (External) Personal Tax Credits option ). Previous editions of this research monitor can be found in the Research Monitors Archive .

People have been able to apply for Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit since April 2003, when these two benefits replaced the Working Families Tax Credit. The general rule is that to qualify for tax credits you must be aged 16 or over and usually live in the United Kingdom. Couples are required to make a joint tax credits application.

Child Tax Credit

Child Tax Credit (CTC) is for people who are responsible for at least one child or qualifying young person. The credit is paid direct to the person who is mainly responsible for caring for the child or children.

Working Tax Credit

Working Tax Credit (WTC) is a payment to top up the earnings of low-paid working people (whether employed or self-employed), including those who do not have children.

Working Tax Credit helps to make work pay for low-income workers. In most cases, employers pay it alongside a person's wages or salary, whilst it is paid to the self-employed directly. The 'childcare element' of Working Tax Credit is paid directly to the main carer of the child or children along with Child Tax Credit.

Amendments from April 2007

There were two important changes made to the results published from April 2007 onwards. First, the figures cover only families with positive entitlements at the reference date and exclude families with entitlements tapered to zero. The second is that the results now show the numbers of out of work families with children. These numbers include both families receiving CTC and those instead receiving the equivalent amounts via the child and related allowances in Income Support or income-based Jobseeker's Allowance. The result of these two changes is higher overall numbers in Table 1 than would more than likely have been the case if no amendments had been made.

Sample Size

The figures are estimates based on a sample comprising 10% of single adults (and couples receiving their child support via benefits) and 20% of other couples with awards at the reference date. The confidence interval ranges listed in Table 1 highlight the potential ranges of error, and thereby the care that needs to be taken when using these results.

Lancashire Results

Table 1 shows the number of families in out of work and with CTC, WTC, or those instead receiving the equivalent amounts via the child and related allowances in Income Support or income-based Jobseeker's Allowance. The Table has figures for the Lancashire districts, the Lancashire County (at NUTS-3 level), the two unitary authorities of Blackburn with Darwen and Blackpool, the North West and the United Kingdom. The numbers are rounded to the nearest 100.

The Table reveals that in total there were estimated to be approximately 121,300 recipients of these forms of benefits in the 12-district Lancashire County Council (NUTS-3) area. In addition, there were around 18,800 recipients in Blackburn with Darwen and 17,700 in Blackpool unitary authority.

In total, 11 of the 14 Lancashire authorities were estimated to have recorded 10,000 or more recipients, which emphasises the importance of these benefits. Even in the most affluent Lancashire authorities of Fylde and Ribble Valley, there were still reasonable numbers of recipients to these benefits.

Table 1 Families (In or Out of Work) with Child or Working Tax Credit Awards, April 2008

All Families
Families out of Work so no WTC
Families in Work
With CTC more than the Family Element
With CTC the same or less than the Family Element
With No Children so No CTC
Families
Range⁽¹⁾
Families
Children
Families
Children
Families
Children
Families

Burnley
11,100
±500
2,700
5,400
5,100
9,500
2,500
3,600
800
Chorley
10,800
±500
1,600
2,900
4,300
7,800
4,300
6,800
700
Fylde
6,000
±400
900
1,700
2,400
4,400
2,300
3,600
400
Hyndburn
10,000
±500
2,100
3,900
4,500
8,500
2,600
3,800
800
Lancaster
13,700
±500
2,200
4,000
5,700
10,400
4,200
6,400
1,500
Pendle
10,300
±500
2,000
3,800
5,200
10,400
2,400
3,300
800
Preston
14,900
±500
3,500
6,800
6,400
12,200
3,800
5,900
1,100
Ribble Valley
4,500
±300
400
700
1,800
3,300
2,100
3,300
300
Rossendale
7,800
±400
1,600
2,800
3,400
6,200
2,300
3,500
500
South Ribble
11,200
±500
1,400
2,400
4,700
8,400
4,600
7,100
600
West Lancashire
10,900
±500
2,100
3,800
4,500
8,600
3,600
5,700
700
Wyre
10,000
±500
1,600
2,800
4,200
7,700
3,400
5,300
800

Lancashire County (NUTS-3)
121,300
±1,600
22,000
41,000
52,100
97,500
38,200
58,200
9,000

Blackburn with Darwen
18,800
±600
4,400
9,000
9,300
19,300
3,500
5,400
1,600
Blackpool
17,700
±600
4,600
8,800
7,900
14,200
3,200
4,600
1,800

North West
750,600
±4,000
172,800
329,400
307,200
568,300
217,100
326,600
53,600
United Kingdom
6,042,500
—
1,382,500
2,640,100
2,386,300
4,484,500
1,898,100
2,950,700
375,600
Note (1) Subtract or add this value to obtain the boundaries of the 95% confidence interval for the number of families. Within these boundaries it is 95% probable that the actual number of families would be found if a 100% survey was used.
Source HM Revenue & Customs

As a result of these statistical revisions mentioned earlier, Table 2 was discontinued for a time but has been reintroduced with the release of the April 2008 results.

Table 2 details the change in the number of benefit claimants between April 2007 and April 2008. The fact that the numbers are rounded to the nearest 100, and that the sample size means that the figures are liable to minor inaccuracies, means that the yearly percentages changes for the Lancashire districts in particular should be treated with caution.

At the national level, the number of awards increased by 0.4% over the year whilst in the Lancashire County (NUTS-3) area there was in contrast, an overall decline estimated at -0.7%.

Table 2 Change in the Number of Child or Working Tax Credit Awards, April 2007 to April 2008

April 2007
April 2008
Percentage Change
April 2007 to April 2008

Burnley
11,200
11,100
-0.9
Chorley
10,900
10,800
-0.9
Fylde
6,300
6,000
-4.8
Hyndburn
10,000
10,000
0.0
Lancaster
13,400
13,700
2.2
Pendle
10,100
10,300
2.0
Preston
15,100
14,900
-1.3
Ribble Valley
4,600
4,500
-2.2
Rossendale
8,100
7,800
-3.7
South Ribble
11,300
11,200
-0.9
West Lancashire
11,000
10,900
-0.9
Wyre
10,400
10,000
-3.8

Lancashire County (NUTS-3)
122,200
121,300
-0.7

Blackburn with Darwen
18,700
18,800
0.5
Blackpool
17,700
17,700
0.0

North West
748,600
750,600
0.3
United Kingdom
6,016,600
6,042,500
0.4
Source HM Revenue & Customs

This page was compiled by Bryan Moulding .

All enquiries from the media should be sent to Corporate.Communications@lancashire.gov.uk .

Any other questions about the content of this page may be sent to EconInfo@lancashire.gov.uk .

For all enquiries about the county council's services , contact the Customer Service Centre on 0845 0530000 (01772 530000) or at Enquiries@css.lancscc.gov.uk .

Change Text Only Settings

Graphic version of this page