Child Support Agency (Hansard, 9 March 1994)

§ Ms Walley
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on Child Support Agency case reference no. 1001953851, dealt with at the Longton agency; and on what grounds the agency cancelled the child maintenance order concerned.

§ Mr. Burt
The case was taken on under section 6 of the Child Support Act 1991 and the maintenance order was subsequently superseded and ceased to have effect by virtue of regulation 3(6) of the Child Support (Maintenance Arrangements and Jurisdiction) Regulations 1992.

§ Mr. Mike O'Brien
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what is the policy of the Child Support Agency regarding using first-class post rather than second-class post;
(2) how many letters on average are sent by the Child Support Agency to each person who is the subject of a claim prior to the statement of the new contribution required;
(3) what was the overall cost of administration and the cost of the postage bill for the Child Support Agency in the last available year.
214W

§ 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 O'Brien, dated 8 March 1994:
I am replying to your recent Parliamentary Questions to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the overall cost of administration, the cost of postage and the number of letters issued by the Child Support Agency before a maintenance assessment is completed.
As the Agency has not completed its first year of operation, the actual full year's costs are not yet known. The total budget allocation for the Agency's capital and running costs for the year 1993–94 is £116 million, of which £2.2 million has been allocated for postage.
Figures are not collected centrally on the total number of letters issued to individual clients before a maintenance assessment is made. Our records indicate, however, that in addition to the initial letter, reminders are currently required in 50 per cent. of cases, and further verification required in 40 per cent. of cases.
All correspondence issued by the Agency's computer system and payments are sent by first class post. Clerically issued correspondence will normally be sent by second class post.
I hope this reply is helpful.

§ Ms Gordon
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what instructions are given to the Child Support Agency to protect single mothers who have disabilities or children with disabilities from a possible £8.80 a week income support reduction or withdrawal of their benefit book.

§ 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 Ms Mildred Gordon, dated 8 March 1994:
I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the instructions given to the Child Support Agency to protect single mothers with disabilities, or single mothers with children who have disabilities from a possible £8.80 reduction in their income support.
The instructions given to child support officers (CSOs) on dealing with reduced benefit directions are contained in the Child support Manual, a copy of which is contained in the Library. There are no specific instructions concerning single mothers who have disabilities or children with disabilities, but the decision to implement a reduced benefit deduction is made only after the CSO has considered the impact on the welfare of the children.
I hope this reply is helpful.

§ Ms Gordon
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many assessments the Child Support Agency has made; how many assessments are being challenged by parents with care; and how many assessments are being challenged by absent parents.

§ 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 Ms Mildred Gordon, dated 8 March 1994:
I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the numbers of maintenance assessments issued by the Child Support Agency which have been challenged.
During the period 5 April 1993 to 31 December 1993 the Agency assessed 121,600 cases, and received 16,600 requests for 215W second tier reviews of assessments. A breakdown of how many requests for review were initiated by absent parents, and how many by parents with care is not available.
I hope this reply is helpful.

§ Ms Rachel Squire
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) how many cases have been dealt with by the Child Support Agency to date;
(2) how many of all the cases dealt with by the Child Support Agency to date have involved absent parents who are in receipt of income support.

§ 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 Ms Rachel Squire, dated 8 March 1994:
I am replying to your recent Parliamentary Questions to the Secretary of State for Social Security asking for the numbers of cases dealt with by the Child Support Agency.
From 5 April 1993 to 31 December 1993 the Agency took on 711,000 cases.
In the same period, over 200,000 cases were cleared, and more than 121,600 resulted in a maintenance assessment. Of these 24,300 cases involved absent parents receiving income support.
I hope this reply is helpful.

§ Ms Rachel Squire
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security in how many cases to date the Child Support Agency has used earnings deduction orders to obtain maintenance payments.

§ 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 Ms Rachel Squire, dated 8 March 1994:
I am replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the number of deductions from earnings orders issued by the Child Support Agency.
To the end of February 1994, the Agency had issued deductions from earnings orders in an estimated 1,400 cases.
I hope this reply is helpful.

§ Ms Rachel Squire
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what target time the Child Support Agency has for completion of assessments of new child support claims; how many of the claims made after April 1993 have been assessed within the target time; and in how many cases the Child Support Agency has exceeded the target time by(a) four weeks, (b) eight weeks and (c) 12 weeks.

§ 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 Ms Rachel Squire, dated 8 March 1994: I am replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the target time for completion of a child maintenance assessment by the Child Support Agency. The Agency does not have a target time for completion of assessments. The original expectation was that it would take between 6 to 12 weeks to clear a straightforward case once the Agency was fully operational. To date, the process has been more 216W time consuming than had previously been expected. Information for the period 5 April to 31 December 1993 shows that 45.5% of assessments have been cleared in under 40 days, 12 % in between 40 and 100 days, and 42% in over 100 days. I hope this reply is helpful.

§ Ms Rachel Squire
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many of the cases dealt with by the Child Support Agency to date have resulted in absent parents requesting a review of maintenance assessment; if there is a target time for dealing with reviews; what is the average length of time required to complete the review process; and in how many cases the review process has exceeded the target 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 Ms Rachel Squire, dated 8 March 1994: I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about reviews of child maintenance assessments. During the period 5 April 1993 to 31 December 1993 the Child Support Agency received 16,600 requests for second tier reviews of assessments. 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. A breakdown of how many requests for review were initiated by absent parents, and how many by parents with care is not available. I hope this reply is helpful.

§ Ms Gordon
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how much, on average, it costs the Child Support Agency to access and collect £2.20 from an absent parent on income support.

§ 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 Ms Mildred Gordon, dated 8 March 1994: I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the cost to the Child Support Agency of administering the collection of £2.20 from absent parents on income support. The assessment and collection of the £2.20 deduction from an absent parent on income support is part of the Agency's overall assessment and collection services and, as such, is not costed as a separate item, being part of the total costs of administration. Given, however, that the process involves automated transfers of multiple payments, the marginal cost attributable to each individual case will be very small. I hope this reply is helpful.

§ Mr. Hall
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, (1) pursuant to his answer of 1 March,Official Report, column 695, when estimates will be available of the amount of money the Child Support Agency will be expected to recover in (a) 1994–95 (b) 1995–96 and (c) 1996–97;
(2) pursuant to his answer of 1 March, Official Report, column 695, what is the estimated shortfall between the Child Support Agency target of £530 million to be recovered in 1993–94 and the actual amount now expected to be recovered.
217W

§ Mr. Burt
The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for Ross Hepplewhite, the chief executive. She will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Ros Hepplewhite to Mr. Mike Hall, dated 8 March 1994: I am replying to your recent Parliamentary Questions to the Secretary of State for Social Security, about the estimated shortfall in benefit saving recoveries for 1993–94 and when estimates will be available of recoveries for future years. We are not yet able to provide an assessment of the level of benefit savings that the Agency will achieve in 1993–94 because of uncertainties caused by the effect of the recent policy changes. Targets for the Agency, including that for benefit savings, are set annually. The 1994–95 target will be announced in due course. I hope this reply is helpful.

§ Mr. Renton
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many cases the Child Support Agency has pursued to date when there is in existence a court agreement regarding maintenance.

§ Mr. Burt
The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for Ros Hepplewhite, the chief executive. She will write to my right hon. Friend.
Letter from Ros Hepplewhite to Mr. Tim Renton, dated 8 March 1994: I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State about the number of cases the Child Support Agency has pursued where there was an existing court order. Up to 31 December 1993, the latest date for which figures are available, the Agency had issued maintenance application forms to 344,000 absent parents, of which 121,600 have resulted in the assessment of maintenance. Figures are not kept on the number of cases in which a prior court agreement existed. It is estimated, however, that 45 per cent. of cases taken on will have an existing maintenance arrangement, a proportion which includes court agreements. I hope you will find this reply helpful.