§ 22. Mr. BurnsTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on progress with preparation for the changes to the Child Support Agency which will come into effect in April 2002. [11703]
§ Malcolm WicksPreparations for the introduction of the new child support scheme are progressing in accordance with the planned timetable.
§ Mr. ToddTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the qualifications of the Auditor General to the 2000–01 accounts of the Child Support Agency; and if he will make a statement. [7269]
§ Malcolm WicksThe administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Doug Smith. He will write to my hon. Friend.
566WLetter from Doug Smith to Mr. Mark Todd, dated 9 November 2001.
I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions asking what assessment has been made of the qualifications of the Auditor General to the 2000/2001 accounts of the Child Support Agency.I very much regret that the Agency's accounts have again been qualified by the Comptroller and Auditor General.Some of the concern expressed by the Comptroller and Auditor General will be remedied as we implement the new Child Support arrangements from 2002.Others we can address now and I am doing so through a standard approach to corporate governance, to risk management and to the improvement in the accuracy of work undertaken.I hope this is helpful.
§ Mr. Laurence RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much is owed to the Child Support Agency in outstanding child maintenance payments; how much of this is deemed uncollectable; and if he will make a statement. [11060]
§ Malcolm WicksThe administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Doug Smith. He will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Doug Smith to Mr. Laurence Robertson, dated 9 November 2001:
I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions about the Child Support Agency.You asked what amount is owed to the Child Support Agency in outstanding child maintenance payments; what amount of this is deemed uncollectable; and if he will make a statement.The amount of debt that was reported in the Child Support Agency's Annual Accounts for the year ending March 2001 is £527.80 million, of which £286.58 million is deemed collectable, £208.72 million is deemed possibly uncollectable and £32.50 million is deferred debt.In the year 2000/2001 our target was to reduce the amount of outstanding debt by 25%. We realised that target and have set ourselves the same challenge for 2001/2002.
§ Dr. StoateTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what the annual budget of the Child Support Agency has been in each year since 1993; [7584]
(2) how many cases the Child Support Agency has handled in the last 12 months; and what the average cost per case over that period was. [7585]
§ Malcolm WicksThe administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Doug Smith. He will write to my hon. Friend.
Letter from Doug Smith to Dr. Howard Stoate, dated 9 November 2001:
567WI am replying to your Parliamentary Questions to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions about the Child Support Agency.You asked what the annual budget of the Child Support Agency has been in each year since 1993. Also how many cases the Child Support Agency handled in the last 12 months: and what the average cost per case over that period was?The table at Annex 1 shows the Annual Budget of the Agency for each year since 1993.During the last 12 months the Agency handled 1,555,550 cases.The average cost per case is £132.17 and is based on the Agency's running costs (excluding the costs associated with the Child Support Reforms) between October 2000 and September 2001 of £205.590 million.I hope this is helpful.
Annex 1: Annual Budget since 1993 £ million Year Budget 1993–94 114 1994–95 184 1995–96 194 1996–97 206 1997–98 207 1998–99 204 1999–2000 207 2000–01 203