HC Deb 25 April 1996 vol 276 cc255-8W
Ms Lynne

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what performance targets apply for the operation of the Child Support Agency's computer system. [25629]

Mr. Andrew Mitchell

The 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 Ann Chant to Ms Liz Lynne, dated 24 April 1996. I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the Child Support Agency Computer System (CSCS) performance targets. The performance targets for CSCS are set out in a Service Level Agreement between the Child Support Agency (CSA) and the Information Technology Services Agency (ITSA). The service level targets are as follows:

Availability The target is for ITSA to provide the computer service to all CSA locations 95% of the planned service hours as laid down in the agreement.

Response Times There are two targets for the time it takes the computer to respond and display information to the user these are: an average response time of 5 seconds and for 95% of all responses to be within 7 seconds

Output Handling The target is for ITSA to accurately handle and despatch 95% of all computer outputs within one working day.

Service Support The target is for ITSA to clear 95% of all incidents (problems) within agreed clearance times as laid down in the agreement. I am pleased to be able to tell you that all performance targets for CSCS have been consistently exceeded in 1995/96. I hope this is helpful.

Mr. Frank Field

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what have been the annual running costs of the agency and the total to date. [26570]

Mr. Mitchel

The 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 Ann Chant to Mr. Frank Field, dated 24 April 1996: I am replying to your parliamentary question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about Child Support Agency running costs. The running costs of the Agency for its first two years were published in our relevant Annual Reports and Accounts. The details for 1995–96 are not quite finalised yet. The most up to date figures therefore are:

£ million
1993–94 139
1994–95 192
1995–96 1197
Total 528
1 Forecast figure subject to end of year adjustment. I hope this is helpful.

Ms Lynne

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will give a breakdown of full assessments by the Child Support Agency by amount and as a proportion of cases cleared from 1 April 1995 to the present time in the same format as his answer of 25 October 1995,Official Report, column 802. [25765]

Mr. Mitchell

The 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 Ann Chant to Ms Liz Lynne, dated 24 April 1996: I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about Child Support Agency assessments. Data is currently available to 30 November 1995. A breakdown of the full maintenance assessments by amount and as a proportion of cases cleared from 1 April 1995 to 30 November 1995 is attached. Work is currently in progress to update this information and details should be available in July 1996. I hope this is helpful.

Full assessment by amount and as a proportion of cases cleared: 1 April 1995 to 30 November 1995
Weekly maintenance Full assessments (000s) Percentage a proportion of cases cleared
£0.00-£ 42.35 34.3 15.6
£2.36-£4.99 0.9 0.4
£5.00-£9.99 1.4 0.6
£10.00-£19.99 4.8 2.2
£20.00-£29.99 5.7 2.6
£30.00-£39.99 5.6 2.6
£40.00-£49.99 7.0 3.2
£50.00-£59.99 5.9 2.7
£60.00-£69.99 5.5 2.5
£70.00-£79.99 4.0 1.8
£80.00 + 4.4 2.0
Total 79.6 36.3

  1. 1. Data extracted from a 5 per cent. sample of cases as at 30 November 1995.
  2. 2. Includes absent parents on Income Support.
  3. 3. Figures do not sum due to rounding.

Benefit Savings Achieved
£ million
1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 up to February 1996 Total
Maintenance collected (including AP IS deductions) 30 57 67 154
Maintenance arranged 177 133 117 427
Non-maintenance cessations 138 200 169 507
Other elements 73 89 101 263
Total 418 479 454 1,351

Ms Lynne

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security which Child Support Agency documents are available under the terms of the open government code. [25628]

Mr. Mitchell

The 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 Ann Chant to Ms Liz Lynne, dated 24 April 1996: I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about Child Support Agency documents which are available under the Open Government Code. The attached list shows the principal Agency documents which are available to the public. This list is not exhaustive; each request under the Open Government Code is dealt with individually, and wherever it is possible to do so the information or documents requested are made available. I hope this is helpful.

Available to the public

  • CSA Annual Report/Accounts
  • Business Plan
  • Child Support Guide Vols. 1-3/Legislative Changes Handbook
  • CSA Charter
  • Field Operations Guide
  • Child Support Adjudication Guide

Mr. Field

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how much benefit savings have been achieved each year since April 1993; broken down into(a) maintenance collected, (b) maintenance arranged, (c) non-maintenance cessations and (d) in total for each of (a) to (c) since April 1993. [26569]

Mr. Mitchell

The 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 Ann Chant to Mr. Frank Field, dated 24 April 1996: I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about Child Support Agency benefit savings. The attached table shows the yearly breakdown of benefit savings achieved by the Agency since April 1993. Up to February 1996 the Agency has firmly recorded a total of £1, 351 million in benefit savings. The figures for March have yet to be finalised. They will include the annual reconciliation of components like family credit and housing benefit. This will certainly mean that the forecast of £510 million for 1995/96 will be achieved. It may even be an underestimate. On this basis the estimated forecast for the first three years is £1,407 million. I hope this is helpful.