HC Deb 03 July 1997 vol 297 cc281-3W
Mr. Hinchliffe

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what guidance is issued to the Child Support Agency in cases where parentage is contested and the courts have not ruled on such a dispute. [5058]

Mr. Keith Bradley

We believe that children are entitled to the support of both parents wherever they live. It is important that the Child Support Agency effectively and efficiently establishes paternity where this is in dispute.

The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mrs. Faith Boardman. She will write to the hon. Member.

Letter from Mrs. Faith Boardman to Mr. David Hinchliffe, dated 2 July 1997: I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about Child Support Agency procedures concerning disputed paternity. The guidance followed by Child Support Officers in cases where paternity is disputed is contained in the Child Support Agency Paternity Guide (which will shortly be available in the Library of the House). Officers are first advised to interview the parent with care; this is necessary to establish certain facts and whether the parent with care is willing to undergo DNA testing to resolve the dispute. Depending on the outcome, an interview with the alleged absent parent is arranged. If the alleged absent parent continues to dispute paternity, it is then considered whether the ease is suitable for court proceedings and whether the alleged absent parent should be offered a DNA test to be arranged through the Agency. Once the issue of paternity has been satisfactorily resolved, then a maintenance assessment is completed as soon as possible. I hope this is helpful.

Mr. Hinchliffe

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what efficiency targets she has set for the Child Support Agency to respond to inquiries from parents (i) with and (ii) without care and their representatives. [5059]

Mr. Bradley

We expect the Child Support Agency to provide an efficient and effective service to all its clients throughout the child support assessment process. We are looking for substantial and sustained operational improvements from the Agency, in particular on getting more maintenance paid, reducing the backlog and improving customer service.

The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mrs. Faith Boardman. She will write to the hon. Member.

Letter from Mrs. Faith Boardman to Mr. David Hinchliffe, dated 2 July 1997: I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State fur Social Security about targets for answering enquiries to the Child Support Agency. The Agency Charter sets out the standards the Agency aims to achieve for answering the telephone, written enquiries and visits to local offices by customers and their representatives. I have listed below the targets and the Agency performance against each standard during 1996/97. We aim to answer general telephone enquiries (through the Agency's National Enquiry line) within 20 seconds during normal working hours. Performance against this standard was 64%. Case specific enquiries are handled through the Agency's Client Helplines. The Agency has no target which covers this area, but it is clear that this is an area where the service offered by the Agency has not fully met its customers needs. I am committed to improving this and plans are in place to improve the service. The Agency plans to employ staff to work a wider more flexible range of working patterns over six days a week. This will provide more opportunities for customers to contact the Agency and vice versa, and will enable the Agency to deliver a better standard of customer service through greater use of the telephone. The Agency has also recently initiated an Early Positive Customer Contact project which will increase the use of the telephone by Agency staff at an early stage in our dealings with customers. The aim is that much more of our business will be conducted over the telephone rather than by correspondence, giving customers more opportunity to raise any issues or concerns earlier than at present. We aim to reply to letters within 10 working days of receiving them. If we cannot send a full reply within 10 days, we aim to send an initial reply within 10 days and confirmation of when we can send the full reply. Performance against this standard was 52 per cent. We aim to see customers within 10 minutes of their appointment time. Performance against this standard was 100 per cent. We aim to acknowledge complaints within two working days and aim to send a full reply within ten working days. Performance against this standard was 92 per cent. for acknowledgements and 62 per cent. for full replies. Whilst some of the results against our Charter Standards are encouraging, I am very conscious that there are still far too many justified complaints about the standards of basic customer contact and the service we provide. Over the next few years, I am committed to bringing high quality levels of performance to every part of our operation as a matter of routine, thereby reducing the number of complaints received and enhancing the public perception of the Agency. I hope this is helpful.