HC Deb 17 November 2003 vol 413 cc478-9
12. Tony Lloyd (Manchester, Central)

If he will make a statement on the new scheme for dealing with Child Support Agency cases. [138645]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Mr. Chris Pond)

The new scheme was introduced for new cases and those connected to a new scheme case in March this year.

Steady progress is being made, and I am pleased to be able to report that nearly 6,000 of the poorest families are already benefiting from the new child maintenance premium.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will shortly place in the Library a second report on progress in implementing the new child support scheme.

Tony Lloyd

I am sure that the 6,000 beneficiaries will be grateful for the new scheme and that my hon. Friend will confirm that the Government clearly perceive it to be a fairer system. Can my hon. Friend therefore understand the frustration of the many people on the old scheme who feel that they are locked into it, and sometimes pay not only more than they believe to be right but more than their former partners believe to be right? Can he provide a ray of hope to many people that the management system in the CSA will get to grips with the problem and that the new scheme will be rolled out for all those who need it?

Mr. Pond

We understand why people are impatient to move to the new scheme, which is fairer, simpler and helps to ensure that hildren get the support that they need and deserve as effectively as possible. We are making good progress, with the CSA clearing thousands of cases each week, but we have always said that we will transfer existing cases to the new scheme when we are satisfied that it is working well. We shall not make the mistakes of 1993, when the existing scheme was introduced too hurriedly and at considerable cost and heartache both to parents with care, and non-resident parents and to their children.

Mr. Paul Goodman (Wycombe)

The Under-Secretary will naturally want to be candid with hon. Members about the reasons for the delay in transferring the old cases to the new scheme. Will he confirm or deny the report in this week's Computer Weekly, which claims that up to 40 per cent. of the old records could contain defects, omissions and anomalies; that up to 14 million individual items may need validating, correcting or checking; and that the CSA has no clear solution to its difficulties, no real idea when it will transfer the million cases … and has not told the whole truth to Parliament about its affairs"? What did the Under-Secretary know about that and when did he find out?

Mr. Pond

Well, Mr. Speaker! May I welcome Conservative Members' new-found enthusiasm for this matter? A little more than two weeks ago, we had an opportunity to discuss it in practical terms in Committee. Only one Conservative Member, who stayed for one minute of the proceedings, turned up. Conservative Members were concerned with three letters—not "CSA" but "IDS".

We are doing what we can to ensure that the new scheme operates effectively. It is working effectively—we are dealing with thousands of cases every week. We know that it is far fairer and simpler than the previous scheme, which the Conservative party was responsible for introducing. We shall ensure that we tackle the problems that we are experiencing with the IT system. The hon. Gentleman knows that those problems have been disappointing for the Government and all other hon. Members. However, we shall ensure that we deal with them. We are working with our partners, Electronic Data Systems—EDS—on that, and we are determined that children get the support that they deserve and need as quickly and effectively as possible.

Dr. Ashok Kumar (Middlesbrough, South and Cleveland, East)

I support the comments of my hon. Friend the Member for Manchester, Central (Tony Lloyd). I emphasise that many of my constituents have told me that the CSA has told those on the old system that it will take many years to get on to the new system. Will my hon. Friend consider that seriously and do what he can to speed up the process?

Mr. Pond

I assure my hon. Friend and his constituents that we will transfer the existing cases as quickly as we can, because we understand the frustration and impatience both of non-resident parents and of parents with care about the need to move quickly—but we shall do so only when we are sure that the system is working effectively. We would be doing no favours to the House, and certainly not to the parents or children involved, if we tried to move forward before we were ready.