§ Mr. ToddTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions further to his answer of 16 October 2001,Official Report, columns 1209–10W, if he will commission an up-to-date assessment of the numbers of non-resident parents gaining and losing from the introduction of new child support mechanisms for 2002. [10264]
§ Malcolm WicksThe assessment of gainers and losers carried out in 1998 was made in order to determine the general effect of the new child support scheme. As I indicated in my answer to my hon. Friend on 16 October 2001,Official Report, columns 1209–10W, simple comparisons between current and potential liabilities cannot provide reliable information on the effect of the 149W reforms on individual parents. The new child support rates are now laid down in legislation and we do not intend to commission further work to establish the overall pattern of gain and loss resulting from conversion to the new scheme.