§ Mr. RogersTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many complaints have now been made to his Department or the Child Support Agency concerning the Child Support Agency. [19239]
§ Mr. BurtThe administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive, Miss Ann Chant. She will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Miss Ann Chant to Mr. Allan Rogers, dated 26 April 1995:
I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the number of complaints received by the Child Support Agency.The precise information you request is not available. Since launch to the end of February 1995, the Agency has recorded a total of 599W 34,449 letters of complaint; but a significant proportion of those complaints concern areas such as general policy or the powers of this Agency. Many of these letters are from persons who are opposed to the legislation but not actually affected by it. The number of letters received that contain complaints specifically about the Agency's performance is not separately identified, but it is considerably less than the overall figure shown above.I hope this is helpful.
§ Mr. DewarTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the average amount of maintenance payable as a result of a full assessment by the Child Support Agency in cases where there are(a) one, (b) two and (c) more than two children, and the overall average figure excluding cases where the absent parent is on income support or other benefit and so paying the standard minimum contribution at the latest date for which figures are available. [19281]
§ Mr. BurtThe administration of the Child Support Agency is the responsibility of the chief executive, Miss Ann Chant. She will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Miss Ann Chant to Mr. Donald Dewar, dated 26 April 1995:
I am replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the average amount of child maintenance payable following a full maintenance assessment by the Child Support Agency.As at 11 March 1995, the average weekly maintenance payable by absent parents with income from employment, but excluding those receiving income support, following a full maintenance assessment, was £43.46. Information on the average maintenance payments broken down by the number of qualifying children involved is not available.I hope this is of help.
§ Mr. Frank FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the total number to date of maintenance application forms issued by the Child Support Agency to parents with care that have not been returned, broken down to show(a) where good cause was accepted, (b) where good cause was investigated and not accepted, (c) where MAFs were issued at a parent with care's request which were subsequently found to have been duplicated, (d) where the parent with care ceased to claim benefit before returning the MAF and (e) the number of unreturned MAFs which were issued prior to 1 July 1994. [19152]
§ Mr. BurtThe administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive, Miss Ann Chant. She will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Miss Ann Chant to Mr. Frank Field, dated 26 April 1995:
I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the number of maintenance application forms (MAF) issued by the Child Support Agency that have yet to be returned by the parent with care.Since launch to the end of February 1995, a total of 1,217,941 maintenance application forms (MAF's) have been issued 867,883 of which have been returned, leaving an outstanding balance of 350,058. At that time 27,800 of the outstanding forms had only been issued during February. It is not possible to break the remaining 322,200 forms down into the categories that you request.Some information that is available is as follows. The requirement to co-operate has been considered in a total of 146,790 cases. Good cause was accepted in 69,228 cases and refused in a further 53,174. The remainder (24,388) were cases where the parent with care (PWC) chose to name the absent parent (AP) before a decision on good cause was made.Since September 1994, it has been possible to conduct good cause investigations without a MAF having been issued. No separate record is made of this type of investigation. Good cause may also 600W be considered, for example, after a MAF has been returned if, in the case of a multiple assessment unit, the PWC chooses to name one or more APs while claiming good cause not to name one or more of the other APs, or where a MAF is returned incomplete but with a claim for good cause. The number of good cause investigations completed does not therefore provide a direct comparison with the number of MAF's not yet returned.Cases where a MAF is issued and is subsequently found to have been a duplicate, along with cases where a PWC ceases to claim benefit before a maintenance assessment is completed, are recorded as "other" clearances or closures. This is regardless of whether the MAF has been returned or not. No data are collected on the number of closures falling into particular categories, except for cases where good cause is accepted. Other examples of closures are: reconciliation of AP and PWC; AP abroad; AP not traced. This list is not exhaustive.At present the Agency cannot provide a detailed analysis of the age of those cases where a MAF has not been returned but future enhancements to the Child Support Computer System which will provide this information are planned. However, as at the end of February, 16,254 cases had been identified as part of the one off deferral exercise, announced in December 1994, referring to MAFs issued before 1 July 1994. This figure includes cases where no MAF had been returned and those where a partially completed form was received by the Agency and the PWC does not wish to pursue the matter.