HC Deb 01 March 1994 vol 238 cc696-8W
Mr. Jon Owen Jones

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how long it takes the Child Support Agency to undertake a review of a maintenance assessment; and what is the target length of time.

Mr. Burt

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

Letter from Ros Hepplewhite to Mr. Jon Owen Jones, dated 28 February 1994: I am replying to your recent Parliamentary Question about the processing of reviews of child maintenance by the Child Support Agency. Where either parent experiences a change of circumstances (for example an increase in salary) or at the annual review stage, the assessment is reviewed. You have asked for a breakdown of the time taken to perform such a review. Information on clearance times is being collected but, because of the relatively low volumes it is too early for reliable information to be available. At this stage we are, therefore, unable to estimate how long it should take to complete a review. I am sorry I cannot be more helpful.

Mr. Hall

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how much money the Child Support Agency will recover in the financial year 1993–94; how much money has so far been recovered by Child Support Agency in this financial year; and how much money the Child Support Agency will recover in 1994–95, 1995–96 and 1996–97.

Mr. Burt

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

Letter from Ros Hepplewhite to Mr. Mike Hall, dated 28 February 1994: I am replying to your question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the amount of money the Child Support Agency will recover. The Agency has been set a target to recover £530 million in benefit savings in the financial year 1993–94. For the period from April 1993 to December 1993, £214.5 million was recorded as recovered. This figure does not represent the total amount of savings that will be recovered during this period, as some will be calculated retrospectively. Implementing the policy changes will have an effect on the Agency's achievement this year. Whilst it is too early to be precise about the impact, it is clear that there will be a shortfall against the target. Figures are not available for how much money the Agency will recover in 1994–95, 1995–96 and 1996–97, although it has been estimated that in the long run around £900 million a year will be recovered. I hope this reply is helpful.

Mr. Jim Cunningham

To ask the Secretary of Stale for Social Security (1) how many absentee fathers who have not contributed maintenance have been traced by the Child Support Agency;

(2) what is the number of fathers whose whereabouts have been reported by mothers, but from whom the Child Support Agency has not attempted to seek maintenance payments;

(3) what proposals he has regarding fathers whose whereabouts are known to the Child Support Agency, but in respect of whom no action has been taken.

Mr. Burt

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

Letter from Ros Hepplewhite to Mr. Jim Cunningham, dated 28 February 1994: I am replying to your recent Parliamentary Questions to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the Child Support Agency. You asked how many absent parents who have not contributed maintenance have been traced by the Agency. To the end of December 1993, the Agency had issued maintenance enquiry forms to 344,000 absent parents. Figures were not kept on the proportion of these cases in which maintenance was not already being paid. We estimate, however, that about 50 per cent. of cases taken-on by the Agency were not already receiving maintenance. To the end of December 1993, the Agency's specialist tracing sections had successfully traced over 15,000 absent parents. You also asked for the number of absent parents whose whereabouts have been reported by parents with care, but from whom the Agency has not attempted to seek maintenance payments. I am sorry that figures are not available in the form you request. By the end of December 1993, however, the Agency had issued 711,000 application forms to parents with care. In 20,500 cases the Child Support Officer had agreed that the parent with care had good cause not to give information about the absent parent. Apart from cases in this category, and any applications found to be ineligible under the legislation, the Agency is pursuing maintenance in all cases. I hope this reply is helpful.