HC Deb 23 March 1998 vol 309 cc4-5
4. Mr. McNulty

If she will make a statement on the Government's policy in respect of reform of the Child Support Agency. [34045]

11. Mr. Baker

If she will make a statement on the principles underlying the Government's review of the Child Support Agency. [34052]

The Secretary of State for Social Security and Minister for Women (Ms Harriet Harman)

This Government believe that all children are entitled to the financial and emotional support of both their parents, wherever they live. We are examining closely all aspects of the child support system and we expect to bring forward our proposals for consultation by the summer.

Mr. McNulty

I thank my right hon. Friend for that response. Most people will agree with the principle of the CSA, but not with the cack-handed way in which it was introduced by the previous Government. Will she ensure that the outcome of any review is both fairer and simpler not just for parents and children, but for CSA staff, and that it is clearly linked both with the excellent Budget proposals on families and children and with the forthcoming Green Paper on welfare reform?

Ms Harman

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Hon. Members on both sides of the House agree on the principle that parents should support their children. We further agree that that principle has not been put into practice properly by child support legislation and the agencies that work under it.

I invite the House to consider three further points. We face some difficult choices in the necessary reform of child support. First, what is the appropriate balance between the interests of the first and second families? Secondly, what is the right balance between a clear, simple and straightforward system and a complex system that deals very closely with individual needs? Thirdly, what is the right balance between the need of parents with care to receive income for their children and the interests of taxpayers not to have to support other people's children? Those are the three issues that the House will have to discuss further and come to an agreement on.

Mr. Rendel

Does the Secretary of State expect any new formula to apply only to new cases, or will it apply also to cases that have already been agreed under CSA regulations—which would lead to difficulties such as cases being reopened and redecided and a lot of losers?

Ms Harman

The hon. Gentleman makes an important point. We are trying to reform a system, but it is difficult to do so when we have a great tangle and a sense—and the reality—of injustice. For people who have had incorrect awards made and those who have had correct awards made but who have failed to pay, the issue of transitional arrangements will be critical in achieving public confidence in the new and reformed system that we should like to see evolve. We will discuss with the hon. Gentleman and his colleagues how to deal with the transitional arrangements

Mr. Wicks

Given that the great majority of mothers and children on income support receive no child maintenance from their fathers, will the Secretary of State consider setting a new target to tackle the tough cases: the men who are determined never to pay a penny? In my advice surgery on Friday night, I met a mother who had supplied all the information that was needed to the CSA. Two years on, she is still not receiving a penny.

Ms Harman

My hon. Friend is absolutely right: there is a huge sense of grievance among absent parents— usually fathers—when there is a delay in assessing maintenance and then, suddenly, they are hit with large arrears that might turn out to be incorrect; there is also a burning sense of grievance among parents with care— usually mothers—that although a correct award has been made, fathers sometimes avoid paying.

We are dealing with difficult issues. We need to keep a sense of principle—that parents should be prepared to pay—but the system must also be fair. The problem is that the principle of parental payment has been undermined by very poor delivery and a failed administration.

Miss McIntosh

Does the Secretary of State agree that the Child Support Agency plays a crucial role in helping abandoned families? What percentage of staff time is spent processing matters relating to absent parents, whether they be male or female? How many appeals under the new procedure are being processed?

Ms Harman

There are 8,000 members of staff dealing with the 600,000 live case load, as it is called, but there are 800,000 further cases where no assessment has been made. I will write to the hon. Lady with any further detailed information that she wants.

It is not always a matter of an abandoned family. It is difficult to talk in absolutes about first or second families. The fact is that many marriages end in divorce, with faults on one or the other side, or on neither. Many children start life without their parents living together. We must strip away the ease of moral judgment and get a system that is fair to the taxpayer, the parent and, above all, the child.