§ Mrs. Jane KennedyTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) in how many cases of the total number of cases where the Child Support Agency have assessed maintenance as payable maintenance has been collected; and how many of those cases where maintenance has been collected were transferred to the CSA from the liable relatives section of his Department;
(2) what is his latest estimate of the number of parents with care who have requested that the Child Support Agency collect maintenance on their behalf; and what percentage of these have had maintenance successfully collected;
808W
Retirement pension/widows benefit November 1978 March 1983 March 1989 March 1993 Retirement pension basic 8,602,000 9,232.000 9,791,000 10,055,000 net additional pension not available 792,000 2,533,000 3,801,000 Widows benefit 458,000 409,000 373,000 337,000 Statistics are from: the Retirement Pension/Widows Benefit Bi-Annual Inquiry, and are grossed up from a 10 per cent. sample. The net additional pension reflects the pension after contracted-out deductions. (3) what percentage of the total number of maintenance assessments made by the Child Support Agency in the first six months of its operation, excluding those cases inherited from the liable relatives section of his Department, have resulted in maintenance payable by the absent parent;
(4) how many maintenance assessments were made by the Child Support Agency in the first six months of its operation, excluding those cases inherited from the liable relatives section of his Department; and how many of these are for parents with care who are working and not in receipt of income support, family credit or disability working allowance.
§ Mr. BurtThe administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for Ros Hepplewhite, the chief executive. She will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Ms R. Hepplewhite to Mrs. Jane Kennedy, dated 2 December 1993:
I am replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security asking various questions about the Agency's operations.The Agency does not collect information that identifies maintenance assessments according to the status of the parent with care, nor whether an assessment relates to an existing case which was previously dealt with under the liable relatives provisions before taken on by the Agency. In relation to the total number of cases assessed in the first six months of operations, the absent parent was assessed as liable to pay more than the statutory minimum in over 26,000 cases. By the end of October 1993, a total of 57,000 assessments had been completed, and 40,000 were for more than the statutory minimum.You also asked about the collection of maintenance. Information on maintenance being collected is not currently available, but will be later in the financial year.I hope you will find this reply helpful. A copy will appear in the Official Report and a copy will also be placed in the Library.