§ Mr. DewarTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) how many maintenance assessments have been issued by the Child Support Agency since it came into operation;
(2) how many inquiry forms have been issued to absent parents by the Child Support Agency at the latest date for which figures are available;
(3) how many (a) non-income support and (b) income support cases have been referred to the Child Support Agency at the latest date for which figures are available.
§ Mr. BurtThe administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for Mrs. Ros Hepplewhite, the chief executive. She will write to the hon. Member and a copy will be placed in the Library.
284WLetter from Ros Hepplewhite to Mr. Donald Dewar, dated 7 July 1993:
As Chief Executive of the Child Support Agency, it is my responsibility to answer questions about relevant operational matters. I am therefore replying to your recent Parliamentary Questions to the Secretary of State for Social Security asking how many maintenance assessments have been issued by the Agency; the number of enquiry forms issued to absent parents; and how many non-income support and income support cases have been referred to the Agency.Although information is not available at this stage relating to the number of non-income support/income support cases referred to the Agency, I can tell you that during the period 5 April to 28 May over 53,000 maintenance application forms were received. In the same period over 19,000 maintenance enquiry forms were issued, and over 700 maintenance assessments were calculated and the parents notified.At this early stage these figures should be regarded as provisional and may be subject to amendment.I hope you will find this reply helpful. A copy will appear in the Official Report and a copy will also be placed in the Library.