§ Andrew SelousTO ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many parents with care entitled to child support received(a) no child support and (b) less than they should be receiving in the last year for which figures are available; and what the total of unpaid child support arrears was. [102287]
§ Malcolm WicksThe administration for 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. Andrew Selous, dated 27 March, 2003:
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in replying to your recent parliamentary question about the Child Support Agency promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.You ask how many parents with care entitled to child support received (a) no child support and (b) less than they should be receiving in the last year for which figures are available; and what the total of unpaid child support arrears was.In the year to 30 November 20021 estimate that 384,000 parents with care were entitled to receive child maintenance following an assessment made by this Agency. Of those 79,000 received no payment and 193,000 received less than they were entitled to.In the same period I estimate that £790 million in child support was charged in relation to full maintenance assessments. Of this around £250 million was not paid.We have now started to implement the new child support arrangements legislated in the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act 2000. These will facilitate an improvement in the number of parents with care who receive their maintenance entitlement on a regular basis.