HC Deb 26 October 1993 vol 230 cc592-4W
Mr. Dewar

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the latest estimate of the sum in maintenance which should be paid by absent parents as a result of Child Support Agency assessments(a) in the agency's first year of operation and (b) in a full year on the assumption that the assessments are in operation at current levels.

Mr. Burt

It is estimated that the sum in maintenance paid by absent parents as a result of Child Support Agency assessments will be some £530 million in the agency's first year and £900 million in the long run.

Mr. Dewar

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the latest estimate of the sum in maintenance payments resulting from Child Support Agency assessments which will go to the Treasury or which will benefit the Treasury by reducing income support payments in the agency's first year of operation; and what percentage this is of the total of maintenance payments assessed by the agency.

Mr. Burt

It is estimated that the savings to the taxpayer from reductions in income support payments in 1993–94 will be approximately £450 million. This represents 85 percent. of the estimated total of the maintenance payments which will be made as a result of assessments.

Mr. Milligan

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to trace absent parents who are now living elsewhere in the European Community and are not paying maintenance for their children.

Mr. Burt

The jurisdiction of the Child Support Agency does not extend beyond the United Kingdom. The Lord Chancellor's Department administers reciprocal enforcement agreements with many countries both inside and outside the European Community. These provisions allow for the enforcement of British court orders abroad and of foreign orders in the United Kingdom. The Government have no plans to change these arrangements.

Mr. Dewar

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to review the operation of the Child Support Agency and in particular the financial formula for calculating the maintenance liabilities of absent parents; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Burt

The new child support maintenance system is a major Government initiative and we are keeping its implementation under close scrutiny. We have no current plans for changes to the formula.

Mr. Dewar

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the latest estimate of the sum that will be paid in maintenance as a result of Child Support Agency assessments in the agency's first year of operation which will be(a) retained by parents with care and (b) recovered through reduced benefit payments.

Mr. Burt

It is estimated that some £50 million of maintenance will be retained by parents with care and about £480 million will be recovered through reduced benefit payments.

Mr. Mills

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what assessment he has made of the effect of the Child Support Agency calculations on the level of maintenance required from responsible fathers already paying maintenance.

Mr. Burt

It is estimated that average awards of maintenance by the Child Support Agency will be about £45 to £50 per week, compared with awards of £25 to £30 under the previous arrangements. This increase is in part due to the fact that many awards under the old system have run for years without review. Awards by the Child Support Agency will be reviewed annually.

Mr. Jim Cunningham

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to undertake a review of the Child Support Agency's workings.

Mr. Burt

The new child support maintenance system is a major Government initiative and we are keeping its implementation under close scrutiny. We have no current plans for change.

Mr. Jim Cunningham

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what consideration he has given to the extent to which the new maintenance arrangements for child support(a) penalise second families in respect of absentee parents partners have their income taken into account and (b) undermine the clean break principle by disturbing previously agreed maintenance arrangements.

Mr. Burt

Assessment of child support maintenance is based on an absent parent's own income and essential expenditure. A partner's income is taken into account only to assess whether the partner can contribute towards the support of any child of the couple themselves; and whether the amount the absent parent has been assessed to pay under the maintenance formula should be reduced to avoid his second family's resources falling below a prescribed level.

The clean break principle is restricted to arrangements between couples who divorce and it has always been the case that there can be no clean break between parents and their children. The child support maintenance formula takes account of the practical consequences of a clean break settlement by allowing the absent parent's housing costs in his exempt income.