HC Deb 24 January 1996 vol 270 cc271-4W
Mr. Canavan

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what options are available to the Child Support Agency in cases where an absent parent refuses to complete and return an assessment form. [9542]

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 Mr. Dennis Canavan, dated 21 January 1996: I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about Child Support Agency assessment forms. If the absent parent (AP) fails to return a completed Maintenance Enquiry Form (MEF) or Review Form (RF) within 14 days of it being issued, the Agency will contact the AP to establish the reasons for non-completion and, where there are no issues regarding paternity or CSA jurisdiction, will advise the AP on completion of the form and where necessary allow the AP extra time to complete and return the form. If, despite this action, a completed MEF is not returned the options available to the Child Support Office (CSO) depend upon what is known of the AP's circumstances:

  1. a) If nothing is known of the AP's circumstances or they are known to have income and the CSO considers that the AP is deliberately not co-operating in providing the required evidence he will consider the imposition of an interim maintenance assessment (Category A) calculated at 1.5 times the Maintenance Requirement. If necessary an IMA can be collected by a Deduction from Earning Order (DEO) direct from the absent parent's salary. Imposing a DEO in these circumstances often results in the completed MEF being returned and for many months we have placed increased emphasis on this work.
  2. b) If the AP has a Partner and is not able to provide evidence of the Partner's income but provides all other required evidence the CSO can consider imposing an interim maintenance assessment (Category B) based solely on the Absent Parent's circumstances and making no allowance for their Partner.
  3. c) If the AP is self-employed and is having genuine difficulty in supplying details of their earnings the CSO can consider imposing an interim maintenance assessment (Category C) at a standard rate (currently £30). A lower amount can be considered at the AP's request and after consultation with the parent with care. If the AP fails to make IMA payments and does not come to an arrears agreement, the Agency will consider enforcement action to recover those arrears. Such action commences by obtaining a liability order in a Magistrates' Court and leads to committal proceedings as a last resort.
  4. d) If the AP is receiving Income Support the CSO can request the Benefits Agency to make a standard deduction (currently £2.35) from the AP's Income Support as a contribution to maintenance.
Under current legislation if a completed Review Form is not returned the CSO is unable to impose an interim maintenance assessment. The CSOs only option is to review the current MA. This involves the CSO in considering the evidences already held to see if they are still reasonable and updating those evidences independently where possible, using the powers available to the Secretary of State. Revised legislation from 22 January 1996 will allow the CSO to consider the imposition of an interim maintenance assessment in the same way as when a completed MEF has been returned. I hope this is helpful.

Ms Lynne

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to replace the Child Support Agency computer system. [10508]

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 21 January 1996: I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the Child Support Agency computer system. As part of its normal management of business operations the Child Support Agency regularly reviews the role of the information systems it utilises. This review includes ongoing assessment of the cost effectiveness of the system and cost of change. There are no current plans to replace the Child Support Computer System. I hope this is helpful.

Mrs. Ann Taylor

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will ensure that the hon. Member for Dewsbury receives a prompt response to all outstanding inquiries about Child Support Agency cases in the Dewsbury constituency that she has raised with the CSA chief executive. [11246]

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 Mrs. Ann Taylor, dated 21 January 1996: I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about constituency cases you have raised with my office. I have looked into the three cases you have written to me about, and I will write to you shortly on each individual case.

Mr. Morgan

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what estimates he has made of the number of complaints filed in relation to the operation of the Child Support Agency(a) with Ministers and (b) the agency itself in each quarter since the agency was set up. [9535]

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. Rhodri Morgan, dated 21 January 1996: I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about complaints received in relation to the Child Support Agency. It should be noted at the outset that complaints are not raised exclusively in relation to CSA administration. Many concern the financial amounts as calculated under the formula set by the Child Support Act. We do not have a detailed breakdown of the categories of Ministerial correspondence, and are therefore unable to provide information relating specifically to complaints filed with Ministers. Figures for all Ministerial and Chief Executive correspondence, including complaints, are as follows:

Ministerial Chief executive
1993–94
Total 16,275 —
1994–95
Quarter 1 317 2,221
Quarter 2 325 1,917
Quarter 3 368 2,343
Quarter 4 339 2,205
Total 1,349 8,686
1995–96
Quarter 1 346 2,127
Quarter 2 294 2,041
Total 640 4,168
1This is an aggregate figure; separate details for Ministerial and Chief Executive correspondence are not available for 1993–94.

Statistics are collated for complaints handled by the Agency as a whole, and the details from inception are as follows:
Number
1993–94
Total 110,886
1994–95
Quarter 1 5,330
Quarter 2 5,659
Quarter 3 8,107
Quarter 4 8.552
Total 27,648
1995–96
Quarter 1 8,639
Quarter 2 8,086
Total 16,725
1A quarterly breakdown for 1993–94 is not available.

As details for December 1995 are not yet published, we are unable to provide information for the third quarter of 1995/96.

I hope this is helpful.