HC Deb 31 March 1994 vol 240 cc1018-23W
Mr. Gordon Prentice

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people have asked the Child Support Agency for a review of their assessments; and how many such applications have been refused.

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. Gordon Prentice, dated 30 March 1994:

I am replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the number of review requests received by the Child Support Agency.

To 31 January 1994, the Agency has received 16,600 requests for second tier reviews. Information is not available on the number of cases where a review has been refused because a client has failed to show adequate grounds for the request.

Mr. Ingram

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many section 18 and section 17 reviews of child support officers' decisions had been requested by the end of January 1994; how many of each of these had been resolved by that date; in how many of each of those the decision had been revised; and what is the average number of weeks that the outstanding reviews have been awaiting decisions in each Child Support Agency centre.

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. Adam Ingram, dated 30 March 1994:

I am replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about child support reviews.

Between 5 April 1993 and 1 January 1994, there were 16,600 requests for a second tier review under Section 18 of the Child Support Act 1991, of which 5,800 were cleared. Information on the number of these in which the decision was revised is not currently available.

In the same period, the Agency processed 10,800 section 17 reviews, prompted by changes to either party's circumstances. The assessment was revised in 10,700 cases.

You also asked for the time taken to carry out a review and the length of time that outstanding reviews have been awaiting decisions. Information on clearance times is being collected, but reliable information is not yet available.

Mr. Ingram

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many of the maintenance application forms issued by the end of January, have been issued to(a) non-benefit claimants, (b) family credit claimants, (c) new income support claimants and (d) existing income support claimants; how many existing income support claimants remain to be issued with a maintenance application form; and what is the expected rate at which these cases will be taken-on before April 1996.

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. Adam Ingram, dated 31 March 1994:

I am replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the issuing of maintenance application forms to benefit claimants.

Of the 755,000 maintenance application forms issued to parents with care by the Child Support Agency in the period up to 31 January 1994; 26,100 were issued to non-benefit clients; 279,000 to clients already in receipt of Income Support, 257,400 to clients making new claims for Income Support; and 193,400 to clients making claims for Family Credit.

It is estimated that approximately 380,000 existing cases where income support was in payment prior to 5 April 1993 remained to be taken on at the end of January. It is planned to complete the take on of these cases by April 1996, in line with the original schedule. The actual rate of take on will vary in relation to factors such as the volume of other cases received in the period.

I hope this reply is helpful.

Mr. Ingram

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many absent parents whose cases have already been taken on by the Child Support Agency are on income support; of these how many were(a) exempt from the £2.20 deductions made from income support in lieu of child maintenance and (b) subject to the £2.20 deductions; and how many of the maintenance assessments calculated using the child support formula issued by the end of January 1994 were (i) nil assessments, other than those for absent parents on income support or (ii) minimum assessments of £2.20 a week, as opposed to deductions from 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 Mr. Adam Ingram, dated 31 March 1994:

I am replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about absent parents claiming income support and the numbers subject to the £2.20 deduction from their benefit as a contribution to child maintenance.

During the period April 1993 to 31 January 1994, there were almost 36,500 cases where the maintenance assessment was zero. The figure includes over 32,000 cases where the absent parent was in receipt of income support. The deduction (currently £2.20) is made from income support unless the absent parent is exempt. Information on the number subject to the statutory deduction is not available. However, it has been estimated that around 50 per cent. of 32,000 are liable to pay £2.20.

You asked how many absent parents other than those on income support were paying the minimum amount of £2.20. This information is not currently available.

I am sorry I cannot be more helpful.

Mr. Ingram

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many section 6 child support applicants to date have argued that they are at risk of harm or undue distress; in how many of these cases the reasons were accepted by the Child Support Agency; how many parents with care subsequently gave the authorisation or information; how many reduced benefit directions have been issued in the first 11 months of the Child Support Agency's activity; how many of these directions have been appealed against; and how many applicants who have given authorisation have subsequently sought to withdraw it and in how many of these cases the reasons for the withdrawal have been accepted.

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. Adam Ingram, dated 31 March 1994:

I am replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about clients of the Child Support Agency where the requirement to co-operate is an issue.

During the period from 5 April 1993 to 31 January 1994, the requirement to co-operate was considered in 44,600 cases. It is not known in how many cases the parent with care argued that they were at risk of harm or undue distress. However, of the 25,000 cases in which good cause not to co-operate was accepted, risk of harm or undue distress was accepted as the reason in 11,300 cases. There were 11,600 cases where further to the investigation the absent parent was identified.

You asked about reduced benefit directions. In the period up to 31 January, 320 were referred to the Benefits Agency for implementation. No information is available on the number of appeals against the reduction in benefit.

You also asked about cases where having initially agreed to name the absent parent, the parent with care subsequently withdrew authorisation. There is currently no information available on the numbers of cases where this occurs.

I hope this reply is helpful.

Mr. Ingram

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will update the table of 18 February,Official Report, column 1023, giving clearance times for Child Support Agency applications; and if he will give an indication of the usual time taken between, (a) the issue of the maintenance application form and its return, (b) the return of the maintenance application form and issue of the maintenance inquiry form and (c) issue of the maintenance inquiry form and its return.

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. Adam Ingram, dated 31 March 1994:

I am replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security asking for an update to the table showing clearance times for the maintenance application process by each Child Support Agency Centre, and a breakdown of the times between the issue and return of the application and enquiry forms.

For the period from 5 April 1993 to 31 January 1994, information is available on the percentage of cases cleared by individual Agency centres within given time bands; under 40 days, between 40 and 100 days, and in over 100 days. This information is tabulated as annex A.

A more detailed break-down in the form you requested is not available.

Mr. Ingram

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when information will be available on the numbers of child support accounts with arrears, the numbers of deductions of earnings orders issued by the Child Support Agency, the numbers of liability orders applied for by the agency; and what is the extent of the information on the collection and enforcement service that will be readily available at that stage.

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. Adam Ingram, dated 31 March 1994:

I am replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the availability of information from the Child Support Agency on arrears, deduction from earnings orders and enforcement.

Information on deductions from earnings orders has been obtained by means of a clerical sampling exercise. This shows that to the end of February 1994, the Agency had issued deductions from earnings orders in an estimated 1,400 cases.

The Child Support Computer System is currently being upgraded to provide more information. We anticipate that further data relating to each stage of the collection and enforcement process will be progressively available during the financial year 1994–95 as a result of this upgrading process.

I hope this reply is helpful.

Mr. Ingram

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security in how many cases dealt with by the Child Support Agency the alleged absent parent has disputed paternity; how many of these cases have been resolved without reference to court; how many of these have been referred to court by the agency; how many have been heard by the court; and how many are unresolved to date.

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. Adam Ingram, dated 31 March 1994:

I am replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the number of cases dealt with by Child Support Agency in which disputed paternity was an issue.

Between 5 April 1993 and 31 January 1994, 2,270 cases were referred for further inquiries to be made because the alleged absent parent had disputed paternity. Of these cases, 457 were resolved without reference to the courts. The Agency referred 22 cases to the courts, 13 being heard. Of these, paternity was established in 2 cases, and not established in 11. At 31 January 1994, 1,800 cases remained to be resolved.

I hope that this reply is helpful.

Mr. Ingram

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the current target for the amount of child maintenance to be collected by the Child Support Agency in 1993–94.

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. Adam Ingram, dated 31 March 1994:

I am replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the money recovered by the Agency.

The Agency was set a target to recover £530 million in benefit savings in the financial year 1993–94. To 31 January 1994, £250 million had been recorded as recovered. This does not represent the total amount of savings during the period as some will be scored retrospectively.

I hope this reply is helpful.

Mr. Ingram

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many maintenance applications had been terminated without a maintenance assessment by the end of January; what efforts are being made to ascertain the reasons for these cleared cases; and on what evidence he based his answer of 10 February,Official Report, column 502, that some were due to collusive desertions.

Mr. Burt

Between April 1993 and January 1994, there were 95,400 cases cleared without a maintenance assessment. This includes cases where the parent with care is ineligible for maintenance; where she withdraws her application to benefit before the Child Support Agency has assessed her case; and where it has been accepted that the parent with care has "good cause" for not providing details of the absent parent.

There are many reasons why a parent with care might withdraw an application before a maintenance assessment. These include being reconciled with the absent parent or starting a job. A number of these will have been withdrawn due to collusive desertion, but, by the very nature of these cases, detailed reasons for the withdrawal of applications are not known.

Mr. Ingram

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many appeals have been made to child support appeal tribunals by the end of February; in how many of these cases the Child Support Agency has met its target of responding to the independent tribunal service within 18 days; how many of these appeals have been heard to date; and in how many of those the child support officer's decision has been overturned.

Mr. Burt

I am informed that the number of appeals received by the independent tribunal service to the end of 25 February is 1,134. On these appeals, the Child Support Agency has forwarded a total of 361 submissions; 164 within the 18-day target. By 25 March, 165 appeals had been heard, of which 147 had been finally decided. In 56 of the decided appeals the child support officer's decision was overturned.

Mr. Ingram

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will outline the compensation available to clients of the Child Support Agency who lose out financially as a result of the agency's operations; and whether compensation is avaialble for those section 6 applicants who were refused a maintenance application form before the change of policy announced on 1 November 1993.

Mr. Burt

The Department of Social Security operates non-statutory special payments arrangements under which compensation may be considered where, as a result of clear and unambiguous departmental error or unreasonable delay, actual financial loss has been suffered. Under section 6 of the Act, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State may require a parent with care to make an application to the Child Support Agency, but is not required to. There is no question of departmental error, and therefore compensation, in cases where he did not choose to exercise this power.