§ Mr. FisherTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish tables to show, for each Child Support Agency office,(a) what percentage of maintenance assessments are incorrect, (b) how many phone calls are lost, (c) the number of phone calls which fail to get through to the CSA office, (d) the number of complaints received and (e) the number of complaints outstanding.
§ Mr. BurtThe administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for Miss Ann Chant, the chief executive. She will write to the hon. Member.
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§ Mr. BurtThe information is in the tables. It should be noted that the results do not track the income of individuals over time but compare the average, median, income for each group in each year shown. Changes in the average for each group over the whole period—1979 to 1991–92—are more reliable than those over shorter periods.
Care should be taken in the use of these single estimates as some are based on a small number of cases. Estimates which are particularly uncertain are shown in brackets, these are based on a sample of less than 100 benefit units.
In some cases, sample numbers are too small to make any estimate. The second table shows the sample numbers for each group.
Letter from Ann Chant to Mr. Mark Fisher, dated 6 December 1994:
I am replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the performance of the Child Support Agency in relation to maintenance assessments; telephone calls and complaints.Monitoring indicates that too many assessments are inaccurate and the Agency is examining closely its checking procedures. Information is not yet available for publication.During August and September this year a Central call handling system was introduced throughout the Agency's six Centres. Abandoned calls result when the customer is put on the queuing system but hangs up before getting through. Between 3 September and 30 September 1994 the number of such abandoned calls is as follows:187W
Centre Calls abandoned Belfast 7,845 Birkenhead 1,927 Dudley 14,326 Falkirk 2,653 Hastings 7,826 Plymouth 8,723 National Enquiry Line 388 Total 43,688
From April 1994 to September 1994, over 9,700 complaints had been received which required a written reply. At the end of September fewer than 3,300 were awaiting a reply. We do not differentiate between complaints about the operations of the Agency and those concerning child support legislation.From the beginning of September a new system of data collection was introduced and in the future information will be available broken down by Agency Centre.I hope that this reply is helpful.
§ Mr. RowlandsTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his latest estimate of the amount of arrears involved under orders made by the Child Support Agency.
§ Mr. BurtThe administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for Miss Ann Chant, the chief executive. She will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Ann Chant to Mr. Ted Rowlands, dated 6 December 1994:
I am replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the amount of arrears owed to the Child Support Agency.As at the end of September 1994, the Agency had arrangements with absent parents to pay child maintenance debt totalling an estimated £22.9 million. An estimated £2 million of the arranged debt was overdue and thus was in arrears.In addition, an estimated £266.8 million of child maintenance had been assessed but no agreement to pay had been reached with the absent parent. In such cases the Agency clarifies the amount owed by each individual absent parent, and then contacts them to reach an acceptable agreement to pay the appropriate amount.I hope this reply is helpful.