Child Support (Hansard, 12 May 1994)

§ Mr. Kirkwood
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the savings made by the Child Support Agency in its first year of operation excluding(a) those savings made and passed on by the old liable relatives system, (b) moneys passed directly from parent to parent and taken into consideration and (c) those savings brought forward from the Child Support Unit prior to the agency's start-up.

§ 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 shortly.
Letter from Ros Hepplewhite to Mr. Archy Kirkwood, dated 12 May 1994: I am replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the benefit savings made by the Child Support Agency. The Agency has so far achieved £335 million in benefit savings in 1993–94. This does not represent the total savings achieved as some will be scored retrospectively. It includes £195 million which arises for maintenance arranged under the old Liable Relative system, and which is not yet the subject of a new CSA assessment. Some maintenance is collected by the Agency as part of its collection service and some is paid direct between parents. At the end of March the benefit savings figure included £172.9 million which had been paid direct. I hoipe this reply is helpful.

§ Dr. Godman
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) how many maintenance application forms in relation to the Child Support Act 1991 have been issued in Scotland since April 1993 to(a) lone parents on income support, (b) lone parents on family credit, (c) disability working allowance and (d) lone parents not in receipt of social security benefits;
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(2) how many maintenance application forms in relation to the Child Support Act 1991 have been returned in Scotland since April 1993 from (a) lone parents on income support, (b) lone parents on family credit, (c) disability working allowance and (d) lone parents not in receipt of social security benefits.

§ 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 Dr. Norman A. Godman, dated 11 May 1994: I am replying to your recent Parliamentary Questions to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the number of maintenance application forms issued by, and returned to the Child Support Agency in Scotland. I am afraid that the figures requested are not available for Scotland separately. Figures are, however, available for Great Britain as a whole. From April 1993 to March 1994 maintenance application forms were issued to 320,400 parents with care on income support, 223,800 parents with care in receipt of either family credit or disability working allowance, and 29,650 parents with care not in receipt of social security benefits. 284,150 maintenance application forms have also been issued to clients who were receiving income support prior to April 1993. In the same period 626,600 maintenance application forms were returned. I hope this reply is helpful.

§ Dr. Godman
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) how many women in Scotland have claimed exemption under the Child Support Act 1991 because of undue harm or distress; how many have no information about the whereabouts of the father of their child or children; how many are unable to name the father; and if he will make a statement;
(2) how many lone parents in Scotland have had their claim for exemption under the Child Support Act 1991 (a) turned down and (b) accepted; and how many have withdrawn their claim;
(3) how many lone parents in Scotland have had a reduced benefit direction made against them under the Child Support Act 1991; and how many have had their benefit cut.

§ 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 Dr. Norman A. Godman, dated 11 May 1994: I am replying to your recent Parliamentary Questions to the Secretary of State for Social Security about cases in which the requirement to cooperate provisions of the Child Support Act have been waived or where Reduced Benefit Directions have been issued. I am afraid that the figures requested are not available for Scotland separately. Figures are, however, available for Great Britain as a whole. From April 1993 to March 1994, 68,400 claims were considered in relation to the requirement to cooperate. Of these, the Agency accepted "good cause" in 15,800 cases where there was the risk of undue harm or distress; in 8,400 cases where the absent parent was unknown, and in 7,500 other cases. Figures are not available for the number of cases where the parent with care has no information about the absent parent's whereabouts. In the same period, 627 cases were referred to the Benefits Agency to consider the implementation of a Reduced Benefit Direction. Details of the number of cases in which benefit was reduced is matter for the Benefits Agency, and I understand that such information is not available, except at disproportionate cost. I hope this reply is helpful.
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§ Dr. Godman
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many absent parents in Scotland have been issued with a maintenance inquiry from under the Child Support Act 1991; how many have returned a maintenance inquiry form; how many have been assessed to pay maintenance; and how many have actually paid maintenance to the Child Support Agency or to the lone parent involved.

§ 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 Dr. Norman A Godman, dated 11 May 1994: I am replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the number of maintenance enquiry forms issued by, and returned to the Child Support Agency in Scotland, and the number of absent parents who have been assessed for and who are paying maintenance in Scotland. I am afraid that figures are not available for Scotland separately. Figures are available, however, for Great Britain as a whole. From April 1993 to March 1994, 466,600 maintenance enquiry forms were issued to absent parents, of which 296,600 have been returned. In the same period, 205,500 maintenance assessments were made. With regard to how many absent parents are paying, the Child Support Computer System records client's details on an individual case by case basis, and it is not currently configured to produce information on the total number of absent parents paying maintenance. I hope this reply is helpful.

§ Dr. Godman
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the average maintenance payment level in Scotland under the Child Support Act 1991; and if he will make a statement.

§ 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 Dr. Norman A. Godman, dated 11 May 1994: I am replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the average maintenance level in Scotland. I am afraid that estimates are not available for Scotland separately. In Great Britain as a whole, however, it is estimated that from April 1993 to March 1994, the average maintenance assessment was £45–£50 a week. I hope that this reply is helpful.

§ Dr. Godman
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many(a) lone parents on income support, (b) lone parents on family credit, (c) lone parents on disability working allowance and (d) lone parents not in receipt of social security benefits have received maintenance under the Child Support Act 1991; and if he will make a statement.

§ 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 Dr. Norman A. Godman, dated 11 May 1994: I am replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about parents with care receiving maintenance. 236W The Child Support Computer System produces national statistics about the amount of maintenance collected, but it does not relate this to individual cases. An enhancement to provide this is planned for the summer. I cannot, therefore, yet answer the question in the form in which you ask it, but you may wish to know that by the end of March 1994, the Agency had recorded £210 million maintenance as having been collected. This does not represent the total sum for 1993–94 because some amounts are recorded retrospectively. It also does not include payments made directly by an absent parent to a parent with care where benefit is not an issue.

§ Dr. Godman
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate the number of(a) absent fathers and (b) absent mothers in receipt of income support who have had a 5 per cent. reduction in their benefit under the provisions of the Child Support Art 1991.

§ Mr. Burt
The administration of income support is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Michael Bichard to Dr. Norman A. Godman, dated 11 May 1994: The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many absent mothers and fathers on Income Support (IS) have had 5 per cent. deducted from their IS under the Child Support Act 1991. The information is not available and could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost. To obtain the information would involve a physical examination of every live and closed file currently held; in excess of 12M cases. The Benefits Agency does not keep a running total of the number of individual customers whose benefit has been reduced because a deduction has been made for child support. However, routine management statistics are maintained on a quarterly basis which show that the number of IS customers with a deduction for child support for the quarter ending 28 February was 16,413. Figures are not available which would break this total down by gender. Although quarterly statistics have been kept since deductions for child support commenced, these do not represent the total number of customers who will have had deductions made, as many customers will feature in consecutive quarters dependent on the time they are in receipt of IS. I hope you find this reply helpful.