HC Deb 27 April 1994 vol 242 cc189-90W
Sir Dudley Smith

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) how many letters sent by Mr. Simon Godfrey of Warwick in recent months have been lost by the Hastings office of the Child Support Agency; and how many of them were sent by recorded delivery and had been signed for by CSA staff;

(2) how many complaints about lost correspondence have been received by the Child Support Agency since it began operations; and how many of those letters had been sent by recorded delivery.

Mr. Burt

The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for Ros Hepplewhite, the chief executive. She will write to my hon. Friend.

Letter from Ros Hepplewhite to Sir Dudley Smith, dated 27 April 1994: I am replying to your recent Parliamentary Questions to the Secretary of State for Social Security about lost correspondence, particularly in relation to Mr. Simon Godfrey of Warwick. Mr. Godfrey wrote to the Child Support Agency Centre at Hastings requesting a review of his maintenance assessment. He was mistakenly informed that this, and a number of subsequent letters, had not been received. The appeals and review manager at the Hastings Centre has written to Mr. Godfrey apologising for the mistake and answering the concerns raised in his letters. I hope you will convey to Mr. Godfrey my sincere apologies for the errors made in his case. You also asked about the number of complaints the Agency has received about lost correspondence. I am sorry that the Agency does not collect information in the form requested.

Ms. Gordon

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many non-resident parents so far assessed for maintenance by the Child Support Agency are on income support.

Mr. Burt

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by Ros Hepplewhite, the chief executive of the Child Support Agency, to the hon. Member for Wallsend (Mr. Byers) on 22 April at column71.

Sir Dudley Smith

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) to what extent the income of the partner and stepchildren of the father of children of a previous relationship is taken into account by the Child Support Agency when a maintenance assessment is made;

(2) why the income of the partner and stepchildren of a woman applicant is not taken into account by the Child Benefit Agency when a maintenance assessment is made in respect of her former husband or partner.

Mr. Burt

Child maintenance assessments are made by the Child Support Agency, using a formula which applies irrespective of whether the father or the mother is the absent parent.

The agency needs details of the income of an absent parent's new partner for two reasons: first, to assess whether the partner can afford to contribute towards the upkeep of his or her own children of the new relationship, or whether the costs of those children should be allowed in full in the absent parent's exempt income; secondly, to determine whether the amount of maintenance the absent parent has been assessed to pay should in fact be reduced, under the protected income provisions. Protected income is calculated for the whole family, so a stepchild's income is taken into account up to the amount included in that calculation for his or her personal needs.

Where the parent with care can afford to contribute to the upkeep of a child of the previous relationship, the absent parent's maintenance payments may be reduced. Since parents with care do not make payments, no protected income calculation is necessary in respect of their new family. But a partner's income is taken into account where he or she can contribute to the upkeep of children of the new relationship.