§ Ms Oona KingTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if the CSA differentiates between absent parents and non-resident parents for the purposes of calculating payments. [119571]
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§ Angela EagleUnder the Child Support Act 1991, "absent parents" are defined as parents who do not live in the same household with their children. However, many parents who do not live with their children have regular contact with them, they are not in fact absent from their children's lives. Therefore under new legislation, currently before Parliament, the term "absent parent" will be replaced by the term "non-resident parent". In practice, there is no difference between an absent and non-resident parent in the calculation of child maintenance liability.
§ Ms Oona KingTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if the CSA maintenance payment is calculated as a sum to be spent directly on the children concerned; and to what extent it includes a payment to the custodial parent for looking after the children. [119569]
§ Angela EagleThe basis of the current, complex maintenance calculation is the maintenance requirement, which is intended to represent the basic amount that is needed to support the child. Where the qualifying child is aged 16 or less, the maintenance requirement includes an age-related premium to reflect the fact that a child needs someone to care for them.
The complexity of the current formula makes it difficult for both parents to understand how maintenance has been worked out. In the new child support scheme, maintenance will be calculated according to the number of qualifying children. There will be no separate allowance for the cost of caring for the child.
§ Ms Oona KingTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what measures the CSA takes to ensure that money paid to the custodial parents for child support is spent on the child. [119568]
§ Angela EagleThe Child Support Agency's (CSA) role is to establish maintenance liability and to calculate and collect child maintenance. It is for the parent with care to decide how best to use the money paid to support and care for her children: the CSA is not equipped to police family expenditure.
§ Ms Oona KingTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what powers the CSA has to check a parent's statement of income. [119573]
§ Angela EagleThe current child support calculation requires a wide range of information to be obtained, including details about both parents' income. The current scheme can be frustrated by parents who fail to produce the information required. Parents may also provide false information, which can result in an incorrect assessment of liability.
If the Child Support Agency cannot obtain information about earnings from the parent, they will contact the employer for the details. If the information is still not provided, a child support inspector can arrange to visit the employer. Currently there is no penalty for failure to provide information, but it is an offence to obstruct an inspector. For self-employed cases, the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999 gives the Child Support Agency access to information about earnings held by the Inland Revenue if all other measures have failed.
The new child support scheme will require substantially less information. Liability will be based only on the non-resident parent's income and the number of children for whom he is responsible. However, to ensure that this 556W information can be obtained in all cases, two new criminal offences are being introduced in the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Bill, which is currently before Parliament, for failure to provide information, or misrepresentation of facts. The offences will apply to anyone who fails to provide information or gives false information to the Child Support Agency, for which there will be a fine of up to £1,000 on conviction.
§ Ms Oona KingTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security in what circumstances the CSA does not require non-resident parents to pay 25 per cent. of their income to the CSA. [119572]
§ Angela EagleUnder the present scheme, non-resident parents can be assessed to pay up to 30 per cent. of their net income in current child maintenance. However, the specific percentages will vary in individual cases. Liability is assessed on the basis of a complex calculation taking account of a variety of factors, including housing costs and the circumstances of the non-resident parent's second family. Parents who owe arrears of maintenance may be required to pay up to 40 per cent. of their net income in a combination of current maintenance and arrears.
Under the new child support scheme, maintenance assessments will be based on a simple percentage of the non-resident parent's net income: 15 per cent. for one child, 20 per cent. for two, and 25 per cent. for three or more children. Allowance will be made for children in the non-resident parent's second family, for shared care arrangements if the non-resident parent has the child to stay for more than 52 nights a year, and for those on a low income. If the non-resident parent owes arrears, he may be asked to pay an extra 5 per cent. of his net income.
§ Ms Oona KingTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what account the CSA takes when calculating maintenance requirements of money paid by the non-resident parent towards their children's maintenance. [119574]
§ Angela EagleLiability to pay child support maintenance usually begins on the day that the non-resident parent is told about the application for a maintenance calculation. However, there can be some delay between this date and the date the maintenance calculation is completed. Voluntary payments made by the non-resident parent during this period can reduce any arrears that have built up. But voluntary payments are not defined and currently have no statutory basis, which means that the Child Support Agency uses discretion in what might be considered an acceptable payment towards child maintenance. New legislation, currently before Parliament, will give statutory recognition to such payments.
§ Miss Geraldine SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will set out the new formula for calculating maintenance assessments for the Child Support Agency; and on what date the new formula will come into force. [119752]
§ Angela EagleWe intend to introduce the new child support scheme for new cases by April 2002. Existing cases will be transferred at a later date, once we are sure that the new system is working well.
557WIn the new child support scheme, the amount of child maintenance to be paid will be based on a simple percentage of the non-resident parent's net income. The basic rate will be 15 per cent. for one child, 20 per cent. for two and 25 per cent. for three or more. The amount of maintenance will be reduced if the non-resident parent shares the care of the child for 52 nights a week or more a year, has a second family or if his income is low. And either parent will be able to apply for a variation in liability to reflect truly exceptional circumstances.
The White Paper "A new contract for welfare: Children's Rights and Parents' Responsibilities" (Cm 4349) sets out the detailed arrangements and contains tables showing what the basic liability will be at different levels of income.