§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what estimate she has made of the percentage of cases in which errors have been made by the Child Support Agency; and if she will make a statement. [26473]
§ Mr. FieldWe are looking to ensure that the Child Support Agency provides a consistent, fair and efficient service to all its clients.
The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mrs. Faith Boardman. She will write to my hon. Friend.
Letter from Mrs. Faith Boardman to Mr. Paul Flynn, dated 17 February 1998:
I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security concerning errors made by the Child Support Agency.The Agency records information on the case value accuracy of assessments, in order to measure performance against the Secretary of State target on accuracy, which for 1997/98 requires "The cash value of all assessments checked in the year to be correct in at least 85% of cases". As at 31st December 1997, the latest date for which information is available, the Agency's performance for the year stood at 85%, exactly matching the target.The 1997/98 target differs from those of the previous two years, in that an aggregate (ie full year) figure of 85% cash value accuracy must be achieved throughout the year, rather than continuing in-month improvements culminating in achievement of the target in the final month.Accuracy rates for the Secretary of State target are measured by quality teams within each Agency Business Unit, and the results are validated separately by an independent team overseen by the Agency's Head of Internal Audit. Whilst the Agency's reported measure of accuracy is concerned solely with the cash value of assessments performed in the period, the investigations of the National Audit Office into accuracy have encompassed other aspects of the Agency's procedures, and examined assessments made in earlier years, thereby producing results which differ from those of the Agency. The different methods of measuring accuracy are a concern for the Agency and we are currently looking at ways to address the discrepancies.The current accuracy rate represents a considerable improvement on performance in the early years. The Agency recognises nevertheless that further improvement is necessary, and a number of initiatives are intended to achieve this. These include additional training for staff, particularly in difficult aspects of the formula, and the further development of the complete action service team technique, which brings together staff members with expertise in the different areas of casework to deal with individual cases as a team. Specific forms have been developed to assist Child Support officers to record systematically all evidence, decisions and calculations in processing an application. Also, the system of checks is to be modified, to introduce checks at various points in the assessment process, rather than at the end of the process, and the role of quality assurance teams is being extended. In addition, many of the other changes being implemented in the Agency, such as increased use of the telephone to gather information, should have a positive impact on the accuracy of the work.I hope this is helpful.
§ Helen JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many calls to the Child Support Agency's helpline over the past 12 months have been attributable to delays in dealing with claims; and what has been the cost of dealing with such calls. [27497]
§ Mr. FieldWe 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.
750WThe administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mrs. Faith Boardman. She will write to my hon. Friend.
Letter from Mrs. Faith Boardman to Helen Jones, dated 17 February 1998:
I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about calls to the child Support Agency's helpline over the last twelve months.Telephone enquiries relating to individual case are dealt with by the Agency's Client Help Line. The number of calls received by the Client Help Line over the twelve months period to 26 December 1997 was 2,579,980.Calls to the Client Help Line service are charged to the public at local rate tariffs; the cost borne by the Agency for the calls over the twelve month period to 26 December 1997 was £943,017.85.Whenever possible Client Help Line operators will provide an immediate response to an enquiry. Where this is not possible, operators offer a call-back service. This service helps us give our clients accurate information, whilst keeping their telephone charges to a minimum. Calls to the service can cover any aspect of an individual case, and it is not possible to say how many calls were specifically attributable to delays in dealing with claims.To be more responsive to our customers' needs, the Agency has begun employing staff to work a wider more flexible range of working patterns over six days of the week to improve the telephone service offered. 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 and faster throughput of cases.Also, the Agency has initiated a Positive Customer Contact project which will mean that staff will increasingly be making contact with customers at a much earlier stage in our dealings with them. The aim is that much more of our business will be conducted over the 'phone rather than by correspondence, this will allow us to gather the vast quantities of information needed more quickly, and help us speed up the assessment process. Our early contact with customers will give them the opportunity to raise issues or concerns and will help to reduce the need for them to contact the Agency about their case.
§ Helen JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the average length of time taken by the Child Support Agency to process repeat claims. [27499]
§ Mr. FieldWe expect the Child Support Agency to provide a consistent, fair and efficient service to all its clients.
The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mrs. Faith Boardman. She will write to my hon. Friend.
Letter from Mrs. Faith Boardman to Helen Jones, dated 17 February 1998:
I am replying to our Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security concerning the average length of time taken by the Child Support Agency to process repeat claims.The Agency defines a repeat claim as a re-application to the Agency for a maintenance assessment at any stage after the original maintenance assessment has been closed.The child maintenance formula requires the Agency to enquire, look at and consider over 100 pieces of information before an assessment can be made. On a repeat application, some new facts will need to be established, while others will already be available, and in general we would expect a repeat application to be processed more quickly than a new application. The Agency does not, however, collect information on the average processing time of new and repeat applications.751WA key element of the Secretary of State target for maintenance assessment clearance time is to clear 60% of applications within 26 weeks; this has been in place for the last three years. In 1995/96, the Agency cleared 48% of applications within 26 weeks. In 1996/97 the performance achieved was 54%. In the current year, to the end of December 1997, the clearance rate stood at 72%.I hope this is helpful.
§ Helen JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many complaints about the operation of the Child Support Agency have been received from people in the Warrington, North constituency over the past 12 months. [27498]
§ Mr. FieldChildren are entitled to the financial and emotional support of both parents wherever they live. We are looking closely at all aspects of the child support scheme to see where improvements can be made. We aim to bring forward proposals by the Summer.
The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mrs. Faith Boardman. She will write to my hon. Friend.
Letter from Mrs. Faith Boardman to Helen Jones, dated 17 February 1998:
I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security concerning complaints about the operation of the Child Support Agency.Statistics are collated on the numbers of complaints received by each of the Agency's 6 Business Units. Warrington North falls within the remit of Midlands Business Unit. In 1997, a total of 2,795 complaints were received by the Midlands Business Unit. A breakdown is not available on the number of complaints which were from people in the Warrington North constituency.It is important to consider the level of dissatisfaction within the context of the Agency's overall business. Since inception, the Midlands Business Unit has taken on almost 360,000 cases. A relatively small proportion of the workload, therefore, results in complaints.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, and we recognise that doing things right first time is the key to preventing complaints. It is an Agency Priority to improve the way in which complaints are handled; we have revised our training for all staff who deal with complaints and have introduced a new Complaints Guide, which sets out our policy and procedures for swift, effective complaints handling. We are aware that as we further tackle our backlog of cases from the Agency's first two years, there is potential for the volume of complaints to rise in the short term.From April 1997 the Office of the Independent Case Examiner has provided an independent investigation service for those customers who consider the Agency's internal review process has not satisfactorily resolved their complaint.In the coming years, I am committed to responding to the needs of our customers by 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.
§ Mr. Duncan SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if she will list the CSA collection service figures for the amount of uncollected maintenance owing for each month since April 1994 indicating the amount attributable to(a) type A interim and (b) other assessments. [30043]
§ Mr. Keith BradleyThe administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for Mrs. Faith Boardman, the Chief Executive. She will write to the hon. Member.
752WLetter from Mrs. Faith Boardman to Mr. lain Duncan Smith, dated 17 February 1998:
I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about uncollected maintenance assessed by the Child Support Agency.The Agency's Financial Management System was enhanced from April 1997 to provide monthly information on category A interim maintenance assessments and other assessments, and this is shown in the table attached. Prior to April 1997 this breakdown is not available.A large proportion of the maintenance outstanding attributable to Category A interim maintenance assessments relates to the first two years of the Agency when interim maintenance assessments were more frequently imposed. The Agency is developing the way it contacts absent parents, and the emphasis is now to get in touch with absent parents as early in the assessment process as possible to reach agreement. This avoids the need to impose an interim maintenance assessment and prevents arrears of maintenance building up.Wherever it is possible to do so, the Agency converts interim assessments to full maintenance assessments. In the last year, the Agency has also started to clear the backlog of cases that had built up during the Agency's first years, again with the emphasis being on completing full maintenance assessments without the need for interim maintenance assessments. The Agency's increased performance in this area is well illustrated by the number of full maintenance assessments completed so far this year; up to 31 January 1998, 132,724 full maintenance assessments had been completed compared to 97,542 at the same time last year. When embarking on the conversion of interim maintenance assessments and clearing the backlog we realised that this would mean that the amount of maintenance outstanding would rise. However, our overriding aim is to ensure that the flow of maintenance increases and that absent parents who can afford to do so support their children.Of the £652,870,713 which is attributable to other assessments, approximately £309 million is the subject of agreements for repayment by instalments, which are closely monitored by the Agency. This leaves approximately £344 million of full maintenance assessment debt to be pursued.Another exercise will be carried out in March 1998 and the results will be published in the Agency Annual Report for 1997/8.I hope this is helpful.
£ 1997/98 Amount of uncollected maintenance attributable to Category A interim maintenance assessments Amount of uncollected maintenance attributable to other maintenance assessments April 610,991,417 533,449,097 May 621,622,348 547,988,156 June 628,261,701 560,507,426 July 635,910,762 572,761,733 August 650,221,953 586,672,588 September 660,426,008 596,516,697 October 670,074,244 609,286,475 November 678,313,253 621,071,891 December 690,002,757 635,522,889 January 697,444,217 652,870,713
§ Mr. KirkwoodTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what assessment she has made of the value of setting up a Child Support Agency Board as part of the review of the CSA. [30167]
§ Mr. Keith BradleyWe are looking closely at all aspects of the Child Support scheme to see where improvements can be made. We aim to bring forward a consultation paper on our proposals by the Summer.