Child Support Agency (Hansard, 24 March 1994)

§ Mr. Matthew Banks
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what assessment he has made of whether he is satisfied that the Child Support Agency is acting in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1984 in revealing details of an individual's income.

§ Mr. Scott
The agency has devised its procedures to comply with the Data Protection Act, and is in regular discussion with the data protection registrar to ensure that it continues to meet its requirements.

§ Mr. Ashby
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many applications have been made to the Child Support Agency; and how many of those applications have actually been completed.
408W

§ Mr. Scott
I refer my hon. Friend to the monthly report on the agency's performance in the Library.

§ Mr. Ashby
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what ethnic monitoring there is of the applications and assessments by the Child Support Agency.

§ Mr. Scott
The chief executive of the Child Support Agency, Ros Hepplewhite, informs me that the agency does not carry out such monitoring.

§ Mr. Tony Banks
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many assessments for payment of maintenance by the Child Support Agency have been made where the absent parent is in receipt of benefits in(a) the London borough of Newham and (b) Great Britain.

§ Mr. Scott
The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for Ros Hepplewhite, the chief executive. She will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Ros Hepplewhite to Mr. Tony Banks, dated 24 March 1994: I am replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the number of assessments made by the Child Support Agency where the absent parent is receiving benefit. You asked for figures for both the London Borough of Newham and Great Britain. Information is not available specifically for the London Borough of Newham, but national figures show that during the period from 5 April 1993 to 31 January 1994 the Agency assessed maintenance in 32,700 cases where the absent parent was on Income Support. Figures are not available for other benefits. I hope this reply is helpful.

§ Mr. Tony Banks
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security in how many cases dealt with by the Child Support Agency the parent with care has not named the absent parent due to harm and undue distress; and in how many cases it has been accepted by the Child Support Agency.

§ Mr. Scott
The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for Ros Hepplewhite, the chief executive. She will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Ros Hepplewhite to Mr. Tony Banks, dated 23 March 1994: I am replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the number of cases in which good cause has been an issue and the number of cases in which it has been accepted. From 5 April 1993 to 31 January 1994, 44,600 parents with care were considered in relation to the requirement to cooperate. Of the cases so far completed, good cause was accepted in nearly 25,000; the absent parent was named in 8,900; and 330 were referred to the Beneifts Agency to consider implementation of a Reduced Benefit Direction. I hope this reply is helpful.

§ Mr. Tony Banks
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if there is provision in the operation of the Child Support Agency for the parent with care to withdraw his or her authorisation to pursue the absent parent when such authorisation has resulted in violence towards the parent with care.

§ Mr. Scott
The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for Ros Hepplewhite, the chief executive. She will write to the hon. Member.
409W
Letter from Ros Hepplewhite to Mr. Tony Banks, dated 24 March 1994: I am replying to your Parliamentary Questions to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the provision for the parent with care to withdraw authorisation to pursue the absent parent. After the parent with care has authorised the Secretary of State to recover maintenance, the requirement to cooperate in arranging maintenance may be withdrawn if it is considered that there would be a risk of harm or undue distress to the parent or any child living with her or him. If a parent with care approaches the Child Support Agency about this, an officer acting for the Secretary of State will discuss the matter with her or him and will consider the basis for their concern. I should stress that the parent will be believed unless what is said is contradictory or improbable. If the requirement to cooperate is subsequently withdrawn, the parent with care will be given the opportunity to request the Secretary of State to cease pursuing the absent parent for maintenance. The Agency will then cease all action on the case.

§ Mr. Tony Banks
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what procedure the Child Support Agency has in place to deal with complaints arising from the operation of the agency; and how this is publicised;
(2) how many complaints on the operation of the Child Support Agency have been (a) received and (b) dealt with.

§ Mr. Scott
The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for Ros Hepplewhite, the chief executive. She will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Ros Hepplewhite to Mr. Tony Banks, dated 24 March 1994: I am replying to your recent Parliamentary Questions to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the number of complaints received and cleared by the Child Support Agency and the Agency's complaints procedures. The Agency has received a total of 15,479 written enquiries and complaints to the end of February 1994, of which 11,945 have been cleared. The Agency's clients are sent information about the complaints procedure as part of the maintenance application and enquiry packs. I hope this reply is helpful.

§ Mr. Tony Banks
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many cases pursued by the Child Support Agency have not been successful in resulting in the payment of maintenance to the parent with care due to(a) failure to locate absent parent, (b) failure to obtain details of absent parent, (c) failure to enforce payment or (d) other reasons.

§ Mr. Scott
The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for Ros Hepplewhite, the chief executive. She will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Ros Hepplewhite to Mr. Tony Banks, dated 24 March 1994: I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security asking about the effectiveness of the Child Support Agency in obtaining the payment of maintenance to the parent with care. As at 31 January 1994 the Agency had successfully traced the absent parent in 19,000 cases where their whereabouts were not previously known. There were only 2,800 cases where the 410W Agency was unable to trace the absent parent, and these cases may be re-opened if new information becomes available. Overall, the Agency has contacted 381,300 absent parents. During the same period there were 37,400 cases where it was either accepted that the parent with care had "good cause" not to identify the absent parent, or where they declined to do so, and "good cause" was not accepted. You also asked about enforcement. Activity in this area is at a relatively early stage, and the process can prove time consuming. However, so far out of 2,700 cases in which enforcement action had commenced, payment had been re-established in 280 cases. I hope this reply is helpful.