§ Mr. KirkwoodTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what steps his Department takes to notify an estranged spouse in receipt of maintenance payments paid by his Department that an agreed scheme of payments has ceased to be paid; and if he will review the current situation.
§ Mr. JackUnder the existing arrangements the Benefits Agency does not, as a matter of course, notify a customer when an agreement to pay maintenance which is collected by the Department breaks down, because the amount of income support in payment remains unaffected. As soon as it becomes apparent that the agreement is no longer working, steps are taken to discover the reason and to re-establish payments. We aim therefore to solve the problem without unnecessarily troubling the customer.844W But where the problem is more serious and requires enforcement or other action, the customer will normally be involved.
As part of the new system of child maintenance being introduced by the Child Support Bill, parents with care will be able to benefit from the dedicated collection and enforcement services of the new Child Support Agency. We are still considering the detailed working procedures of the agency.