§ Mr. David NicholsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the estimated total of absent parents who in 1992 paid no maintenance for their children; how many such parents have been traced by the Child Support Agency; and what assessment he has made of the agency's record in contacting new absent parents since 1992. [2447]
§ Mr. Andrew MitchellThe information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is as follows.
Research published in the White Paper "Children Come First" in 1990 showed that, in 1989, around 33 per cent. of lone parents received regular child maintenance.
Since 1992, the number of absent parents who have been traced by the Child Support Agency has increased as follows: 28,240 (1993–94), 49,632 (1994–95), 55,025 (1995–96) and 29,001 in the first six months of 1996–97, showing that the agency has been making steady progress in finding absent parents whose address was unknown to the parent with care. It is not known how many of these were new absent parents.