§ Mr. Alan DuncanTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many current CSA assessments would be altered by implementation of the proposed changes in procedures. [78729]
§ Malcolm WicksIt is expected that the majority of assessments made by the Child Support Agency will alter when the new scheme is introduced for existing cases. This is expected to be about a year after the new scheme is commenced for new cases.
§ Mr. WebbTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average payment made in child support maintenance by the non-resident parent under the CSA system for(a) one child, (b) two children and (c) three or more children, based on the most recent five per cent. scan of the Child Support Computer System. [79360]
§ Malcolm Wicks[holding reply 4 November 2002]: The information is in the table.
Average maintenance payment, £ per week Number of qualifying children 1 2 3 27.43 35.30 36.24 Notes:
1. Figures are taken from a 5 per cent sample of "live and assessed" cases of the May 2002 quarterly scan of the Child Support Computer System and so are subject to sampling variation.
654W2. Figures are based only on payments to parents with care made via the CSA collection service. Data is not held on those payments made directly by the non-resident parent to the parent with care.
3. Averages are based on cases with Full Maintenance Assessments only.
4. Payments made to reduce outstanding arrears are included in the calculation.
5. The averages exclude cases assessed at zero maintenance payable; these represent nearly half of all cases with a Full Maintenance Assessment.
6. The figures in the table represent average amounts paid by each non-resident parent for a single case.
§ Mr. WebbTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average child support maintenance assessment is for(a) all, (b) employed and (c) unemployed non-resident parents for (i) one, (ii) two and (iii) three or more qualifying children. [79364]
§ Malcolm Wicks[holding answer 4 November 2002]: The information is given in the table.
Average maintenance assessment, £ per week Employment status of non-resident parent Number of qualifying children 1 2 3 All 19.05 25.38 23.45 Employed 33.96 43.08 44.86 Unemployed 2.27 2.89 1.92 Notes:
1. The averages take account of cases assessed at zero maintenance payable.
2. Figures are taken from a 5 per cent sample of all "live and assessed" cases of the May 2002 quarterly scan of the Child Support Computer System and so are subject to sampling variation.
3. Figures are for Full Maintenance Assessments only.
4. Employment status of the non-resident parent is based on the information held on the Child Support Computer System.
§ Mr. DrewTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make a statement on the timetable for the introduction of the proposed changes in the CSA; and what assessment he has made of the impact upon the parent with responsibility of its proposed changes. [77308]
§ Malcolm Wicks[holding reply 28 October 2002]: I refer my hon. Friend to the letter sent to right hon. and hon. Members on 19 September 2002 by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, a copy of which was placed in the Library.
The White Paper "A new contract for welfare: children's rights and parents' responsibilities", (CM4349) published in July 1999, gives our most recent estimates.
§ Mr. WebbTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, (1) if he will update his estimates of gainers and losers from his proposed reforms to child support; [74842]
(2) what estimates he has made of the change in average maintenance assessment under the new Child Support Scheme for a non resident parent supporting (a) one qualifying child, (b) two qualifying children and (c) three or more qualifying children. [76109]
§ Malcolm WicksThe White Paper "A new contract for welfare: children's rights and parents' responsibilities", (CM 4349) published in July 1999, gives our most recent estimates.
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§ Mr. WebbTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) if he will estimate the(a) percentage and (b) number of non-resident parents who will see (i) an increase and (ii) a decrease in their child support maintenance assessment under the new scheme, based on the (A) five per cent. scan of the Child Support Computer System that was conducted in August 2000 and (B) the most recent five per cent. scan of the system; [79363]
(2) if he will estimate the average child support maintenance assessment under the new scheme for (a) all, (b) employed and (c) unemployed non-resident parents for (i) one, (ii) two and (iii) three or more qualifying children, based on the most recent scan of the Child Support Computer System; [79365]
(3) if he will estimate the average (a) weekly amount and (b) percentage change in child support maintenance assessment under the new scheme for (i) all, (ii) employed and (iii) unemployed non resident parents for (1) one, (2) two and (3) three or more qualifying children, based on the most recent five per cent. scan of the Child Support Computer System. [79358]
§ Malcolm Wicks[holding answer 4 November 2002]: I refer my hon. friend to the letter sent to right hon. and hon. Members on 19 September 2002 by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State, a copy of which has been placed in the Library.
The White Paper "A new contract for welfare: children's rights and parents' responsibilities", (CM 4349) published in July 1999, gives our most recent estimates.
§ Mr. WebbTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much has been paid in compensation for Child Support Agency maladministration in each of the last five years; and how many cases have been involved. [79361]
§ 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 to Mr. Steven Webb from Doug Smith, dated 7 November 2002:
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in replying to your recent parliamentary questions about the Child Support Agency promised a substantive reply from me.You ask how much has been paid in compensation for Child Support Agency maladministration in each of the last five years; and how many cases have been involved.The amounts that have been paid by the Agency's Special Payments Team in respect of consolatory and financial redress and the number of cases involved are as follows:
Number of Cases Total amount Paid (£) 1997–1998 1,389 786,590 1998–1999 8,195 3,683,277 1999–2000 7,705 2,529,695 2000–2001 9,821 2,736,479 2001–2002 12,007 2,518.487 I hope you find this useful.
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§ Mr. WebbTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to his answer of 28 October 2002,Official Report, column 649W, on child maintenance, what proportion of parents with care on income support and income-based jobseekers' allowance received maintenance for their children in (a) 1997 and (b) at the most recent date for which figures are available. [79924]
§ Malcolm WicksBased on data for February for both years, in 1997, 36 per cent. of the total of 255,000 parents with care, on income support or income-based job seeker's allowance and with full maintenance assessments were receiving maintenance. For 2002, that proportion was 31 per cent., but of a caseload that had increased by over 50 per cent., to some 392,000 such parents with care.
§ Mr. SteinbergTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many complaints and queries have been dealt with by the Child Support Agency in each of the last five years; how many absent parents were no longer contactable in each of these years; how many maintenance accounts held by the agency were in arrears in each of these years(a) in the United Kingdom and (b) in Durham; and what the outstanding amounts were (i) in the United Kingdom and (ii) in Durham. [80233]
§ Malcolm WicksI will write to my hon. Friend as soon as possible with the information requested and place a copy of my letter in the Library.