Child Support Agency (Hansard, 8 July 1997)

§ Mr. Healey
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans she has for a review of the structure and operation of the Child Support Agency; over what time scale and with what terms of reference; and if she will make a statement. [4889]

§ Mr. Keith Bradley
Over the coming months we will be looking closely at all areas of the Child Support Agency's operations, in particular to ensure that cases are processed faster, backlogs are tackled and fathers do not avoid paying maintenance.

§ Mr. Kirkwood
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if she will list the proportion of the new work intake of the Child Support Agency during 1996–97 and the number of live assessed cases on 31 March 1997 relating to persons with care(a) claiming (i) income support, (ii) income-based jobseekers allowance, (iii) family credit and (iv) disability working allowance and (b) not in receipt of means-tested benefits; if she will list the figures for the three previous years; and if she will estimate the proportion of maintenance collected which is not offset against means-tested benefits. [5265]

§ Mr. Bradley
We expect the Child Support Agency to provide an efficient and effective service to all its clients throughout the Child Support assessment process. We are looking for substantial and sustained improvements from the Agency in particular on getting more maintenance paid, reducing the backlog and improving customer service.
The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mrs. Faith Boardman. She will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Mrs. Faith Boardman to Mr. Archy Kirkwood, dated 7 July 1997: I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about new work intake by the Child Support Agency. The Agency intake of new work in 1996–97 was 368,026. The intake for the 3 previous years was 356,317 in 1995–96; 398,584 in 1994–95; and 858,011 in 1993–94. Information is not available to break down each years new intake of work into the categories that you have requested. However, data relating to the Agency's live and assessed caseload is produced by 453W the Analytical Services Division of the Department of Social Security. Figures are not available, as at the month of March for each of the years you have requested; the nearest figures available are those at 30 June 1994, 31 March 1995 and 28 February for both 1996 and 1997. The table attached shows the total live and assessed caseload, and the number of cases with full maintenance assessments at the dates mentioned. The table also outlines the proportion of parents/persons with care claiming means tested benefits and those who are not. Data is only available for full maintenance assessments. The number of cases

Child Support Agency live and assessed cases; full maintenance assessments (FMAs) and parent/person with care benefit status

June 1994 March 1995 February 1996 February 1997

Number of live and assessed cases 203,600 345,400 460,800 579,200

Number of FMAs 152,100 257,900 369,100 498,500

Proportion of parents with care

In receipt of income support 86.2 per cent. 83.5 per cent. 77.0 per cent. 73.1 per cent.

In receipt of family credit and disabled working allowance 8.9 per cent. 10.5 per cent. 13.2 per cent. 15.2 per cent.

Not in receipt of means tested benefit 4.9 per cent. 6.0 per cent. 9.8 per cent. 11.7 per cent.

§ Mr. Kirkwood
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many persons with care have received payments of interest on delay from the Child Support Agency. [5271]

§ Mr. Bradley
The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mrs Faith Boardman. She will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Mrs. Faith Boardman to Mr. Archy Kirkwood, dated 7 July 1997: I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the number of persons with care who have received payments of interest on delay from the Child Support Agency. The measure whereby persons with care are compensated for delays caused by the Agency in passing on maintenance payments was introduced in March 1996, and was applicable to payments made from 1 April 1995. At the 30 April 1997, the total number of persons with care who have received payments under this measure from the Agency was 835, from a live and assessed caseload of approximately half a million. I hope this is helpful.

§ Mr. Kirkwood
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if she will give a breakdown of the level of Child Support Agency full assessment against absent parents" income in bands of £50 a week; and what

Absent parents full maintenance assessments by net income for assessable purposes

28 February 1997

Absent parents net income

Maintenance (£ per week) Total £0.00 £0.01–£49.99 £50.00–£99.99 £100.00–£149.99 £150.00–£199.99

Total 498,500 203,500 19,100 28,900 57,500 80,100

£0.00 192,800 155,700 5,400 14,800 8,800 6,400

£0.01–£4.80 77,200 38,500 13,800 11,900 10,100 2,900

£4.81–£9.99 10,000 300 — 1,400 4,900 2,600

£10.00–£19.99 25,000 700 — 800 12,900 7,900

£20.00–£29.99 30,200 1,500 — 100 11,500 11,200

£30.00–£39.99 34,000 2,000 — — 7,100 14,500

£40.00–£49.99 37,000 1,400 — — 2,100 18,300

454W
where the parent with care is in receipt of Disabled Working Allowance is small, and these are included with Family Credit cases. Income-based Job Seekers Allowance cases are not counted separately, and they are included with Income Support cases.
Of the £399.9m collected or arranged for payment by the Agency in 1996–97, £267.7m (67%) has been calculated as offset benefit spending. This leaves an estimated £132.2m (33%) which did not offset benefit spending.
I hope this is helpful.
proportion of absent parents have an assessment which is higher than the maintenance requirement for the relevant children. [5293]

§ Mr. Bradley
The formula provisions are designed to ensure that absent parents pay a reasonable amount towards the costs of their children, and contain a number of safeguards to ensure they retain a fair proportion of their income to meet other commitments. The additional maintenance payable when absent parents have sufficient income to meet the basic maintenance requirement helps to ensure that children share their higher standard of living.
The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mrs. Faith Boardman. She will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Mrs. Faith Boardman to Mr. Archy Kirkwood, dated 7 July 1997: I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security regarding the level of Child Support Agency full maintenance assessments against absent parents net income and the proportion of absent parents that have a maintenance assessment that is higher than the maintenance requirement. The tables below outline full maintenance assessments of absent parents by net income as requested. The proportion of absent parents with a final maintenance higher than the maintenance requirement is approximately 12%. I hope this is helpful.
455W

Absent parents full maintenance assessments by net income for assessable purposes

28 February 1997

Absent parents net income

Maintenance (£ per week) Total £0.00 £0.01–£49.99 £50.00–£99.99 £100.00–£149.99 £150.00–£199.99

£50.00–£59.99 33,500 800 — — 100 15,400

£60.00–£69.99 23,900 1,000 — — — 800

£70.00–£79.99 16,400 800 — — — 100

£80.00–£89.99 9,400 200 — — — —

£90.00–£99.99 4,500 300 — — — —

£100.00–£ 109.99 2,100 100 — — — —

£110.00–£119.99 1,200 100 — — — —

£120.00 and over 1,200 100 — — — —

Absent parents net income

Maintenance (£ per week) £200.00–£249.99 £250.00–£299.99 £300.00–£349.99 £350.00–£399.99 £400.00–£449.99 £450.00–or more

Total 53,800 29,700 12,400 6,800 3,300 3,300

£0.00 1,400 200 — — — —

£0.01–£4.80 100 — — — — —

£4.81–£9.99 800 — — — — —

£10.00–£19.99 2,300 400 — 100 — —

£20.00–£29.99 4,700 1,000 300 — — —

£30.00–£39.99 7,400 2,300 400 200 — —

£40.00–£49.99 9,600 3,900 100 400 100 —

£50.00–£59.99 9,600 5,300 1,500 700 200 —

£60.00–£69.99 13,600 5,100 1,900 1,100 300 100

£70.00–£79.99 4,200 7,200 2,400 1,000 500 100

£80.00–£89.99 100 4,100 2,700 1,200 600 200

£90.00–£99.99 — 100 1,800 1,100 600 200

£100.00–£109.99 — — 300 700 500 200

£110.00–£119.99 — — — 300 200 300

£120.00 and over — — — — 200 700

Absent parents with a net income of £0.00 includes all cases where the absent parent is on income support JSA(IB). This includes a small number of cases where the maintenance assessment is greater than £4.80. These are normally suspended eases where the CSA is investigating the current status of the absent parent.

§ Mr. Kirkwood
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if she will list for each quarter for which information is available since April 1993(a) the total debt in Child Support Agency accounts, (b) the debt attributable to interim maintenance assessments and (c) for both IMA-only cases and fully assessed cases, the number and percentage of accounts (i) fully paid up, (ii) partly paid up and (iii) without any payments made: and if he will add these data to the CSA performance statistical information placed in the Library. [5261]

§ Mr. Bradley
The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mrs. Faith Boardman. She will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Mrs. Faith Boardman to Mr. Archy Kirkwood, dated 7 July 1997: I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the amount of debt in Child Support Agency accounts.

Child Support Agency payment compliance via regular payment accounts

Full Maintenance Assessments (including all categories—excluding suspended and deferred cases)

Total Not applicable Sub total Full Per cent. Partial Per cent. Nil Per cent.

November 1995 341,500 221,700 119,900 22,800 19 41,700 35 55,400 46

February 1996 369,100 238,100 130,900 30,200 23 43,500 33 57,200 44

May 1996 395,500 254,200 141,200 35,900 25 48,200 34 57,200 41

456W
The amount of debt, which includes final maintenance assessments and all interim maintenance assessments (except Category A maintenance assessments) remaining to be collected by the Agency at the end of March 1997 was £513,124,641.
The amount of maintenance outstanding attributable to Category A assessments remaining to be collected by the Agency at the end of March 1997 was £613,765,094.
Compliance rates are only available from November 1995. Prior to that date information available was of insufficient reliability to produce accurate results. The tables attached reflect the position from November 1995.
We will not be including these statistics in the CSA Statistical Information report which is placed in the House of Commons Library, as these statistics are available to the public in the DSS Analytical Services Division CSA Quarterly Summary of Statistics.
I hope this is helpful.
457W

Child Support Agency payment compliance via regular payment accounts

Full Maintenance Assessments (including all categories—excluding suspended and deferred cases)

Total Not applicable Sub total Full Per cent. Partial Per cent. Nil Per cent.

August 1996 426,300 277,500 148,800 31,100 21 56,400 38 61,200 41

November 1996 462,800 306,300 156,500 43,100 28 52,400 33 61,000 39

February 1997 498,500 333,100 165,400 52,200 32 52,100 31 61,000 37

Not applicable category includes those cases with nothing due or where payment is not via the collection service, as well as the majority of absent parents in receipt of income support.
Due to rounding figures may not sum to exact totals.
Nil compliance indicates that no payment has been made during the last three months.

Interim maintenance assessments

Total Not applicable Sub total Full Per cent. Partial Per cent. Nil Per cent.

November 1995 94,000 20,400 73,600 400 1 4,100 5 69,100 94

February 1996 91,800 21,300 70,500 500 1 4,700 7 65,200 92

May 1996 89,200 21,000 68,100 500 1 4,600 7 63,000 92

August 1996 86,200 21,800 64,300 500 1 4,300 7 59,500 92

November 1996 83,200 22,600 60,600 700 1 4,500 8 55,400 91

February 1997 80,700 24,400 56,300 600 1 4,000 7 51,700 92

Not applicable category includes those cases with nothing due or where payment is not via the collection service, as well as the majority of absent parents in receipt of income support.
Due to rounding figures may not sum to exact totals.
Nil compliance indicates that no payment has been made during the last three months.

§ Mr. Pond
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what proportion of child maintenance assessments were processed by the Child Support Agency (i) within six months, (ii) within a year and (iii) after more than a year in 1996–97. [5446]

§ Mr. Bradley
We expect the Child Support Agency to provide an efficient and effective service to all its clients throughout the child support assessment process. We are looking for substantial and sustained operational improvements from the Agency, in particular on getting more maintenance paid, reducing the backlog and improving customer service.
The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mrs. Faith Boardman. She will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Mrs. Faith Boardman to Mr. Chris Pond, dated 7 July 1997: I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the processing of maintenance assessments. I am afraid that I am unable to provide precise information in the format requested, as we do not have a breakdown of the proportion of clearances within a year and greater than a year. The clearance of maintenance assessments is the subject of a Secretary of State target, which in 1996/97 required that 60% of new applications be cleared within 26 weeks. We therefore monitored the progress of applications with this target in mind. In 1996197, we reported that 54% of new applications were cleared within 26 weeks. This was the figure for the full year. Performance was improving as the year-end approached in February and March, the in-month achievement was 60% and 63% respectively. Performance this year shows a continuing upward trend in the clearance of cases. I hope this is helpful.

§ Mr. Kirkwood
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what has been the caseload of the Child Support Agency, in respect of(a) cases awaiting 458W assessment and (b) live assessed cases at the end of each financial year of its operation; and what estimates she has made of these figures over the next five years. [5280]

§ Mr. Bradley
The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mrs. Faith Boardman. She will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Mrs. Faith Boardman to Mr. Archy Kirkwood, dated 7 July 1997: I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the caseload of the Child Support Agency. Details of the number of cases awaiting assessment at the end of each year of operation are as follows:

1993–94: 550,000

1994–95: 425,561

1995–96: 409,659

1996–97: 406,649

Details of the Agency's live and assessed cases are provided by the Department of Social Security Analytical Services Division, and are measured for the Agency's Quarterly Summary of Statistics (QSS). The quarterly measurement has not always coincided with the end of the financial year: the following figures are therefore from the QSS nearest to the year-end:

1993–94: 203,600 (June 1994 QSS)

1994–95: 345,400 (March 1995 QSS)

1995–96: 460,800 (February 1996 QSS)

1996–97: 579,200 (February 1997 QSS).

We would expect to have reduced work on hand to around 200,000 by the end of 1998–99. The Agency is constantly seeking to improve clearance times and taking this into account would expect to have around 150,000–200,000 cases on hand during the following three years. The number of live and assessed cases at the end of each of the next five years is expected to be as follows:

1997–98: 730,000

1998–99: 855,000

1999–2000: 950,000

459W

2000–01: 1,035,000

2001–02; 1,115,000

I hope this is helpful.

§ Mr. Kirkwood
To ask the Secretary of Sate for Social Security how many complaints concerning the Child Support Agency were sent in the last six quarters to(a) its customer services manager, (b) its chief executive and (c) Ministers; and when complainants were informed of the establishment of the office of independent case examiner. [5316]

§ Mr. Bradley
The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mrs. Faith Boardman. She will write to the hon. Member.
Letter front Mrs. Faith Boardman to Mr. Archy Kirkwood, dated 7 July 1997: I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about complaints concerning the Child Support Agency. I am afraid that I am unable to provide precise information in the format requested. Most letters of complaint to the Agency are not dealt with centrally, but are handled by the Child Support Agency Centres (or, in a small number of instances, field offices) responsible for the complainants case. The number of complains received by the Centres (or the field) over the last six quarters is as follows:

Quarter Number of complaints

October to December 1995 7,609

January to March 1996 6,257

April to June 1996 6,275

July to September 1996 6,259

October to December 1996 5,808

January to March 1997 5,870

Whilst figures are collated on correspondence received by Ministers and Chief Executive offices, this is not broken down into different categories, and it is not possible to say what proportion of that correspondence relates to complaints. Details of the number of letters received by the Chief Executive and by Ministers over the last six quarters is as follows:

Quarter Chief Executive Ministers

October to December 1995 2,322 455

January to March 1996 2,412 370

April to June 1996 2,338 402

July to September 1996 2,102 319

October to December 1996 2,333 346

January to March 1997 2,266 347

It is important to consider the amount of correspondence, whether complaints or other matters, in the context of the Agency's overall business. From launch in April 1993 to the end a 1996/97, the Agency has taken on just under two million cases. A relatively small proportion of the Agency's workload. Therefore, results in complains or other correspondence.
In response to a written Parliamentary Question, the then Parliamentary Under Secretary of State announced on 25 March 1996, that an Independent Complaints Examiner would be recruited for the Agency. This was followed by a press release, on the same day, stating his intentions to recruit an Independent Complaints Examiner, following a pilot to inform the guidelines within which the Examiner would operate. The appointment of Anne Parker as Independent Case Examiner was announced in a press release on 31st December 1996 and a leaflet explaining the service was published at the end of March 1997. Additionally, moves to 460W publicise the service have included meetings between the Examiner and stakeholder organisations, and correspondence from the Ombudsman to MPs.
The Office of the Independent Case Examiner opened for business on 7th April 1997, but there were some restrictions on publicity during the General Election period.
I hope this is helpful.

§ Mr. Kirkwood
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many Child Support Agency cases have had initial period arrears of over six months deferred in each quarter since April 1995; and in how many of these cases the person with care has been compensated. [5254]

§ Mr. Bradley
The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mrs. Faith Boardman. She will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Mrs. Faith Boardman to Mr. Archy Kirkwood, dated 7 July 1997: I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the Child Support Agency initial period arrears cases. This measure was introduced to encourage absent parents to start paying maintenance where significant levels of arrears had accrued, as a direct result of Agency delays in processing initial maintenance assessments in the early period of the Agency. Under this arrangement, if absent parents continue to comply for 52 weeks, they would only be liable for the latest 6 months of arrears. Where this results in a balance of arrears being due to the person with care, this is paid by the Agency in the form of a special payment. The table attached shows the number of cases where initial period arrears have been deferred and the number of cases where the person with care has been compensated. Because of the 52 week qualifying period no payments were made during 1995/96. It follows that any agreements made for 1996/97 would not be actioned until the beginning of the following financial year, namely 1997/98. I hope this is helpful.

Child Support Agency initial period arrears cases

Period Initial period arrears deferred — number of cases Number of cases where person with care has been compensated

April to June 1995 14 Not applicable

July to September 1995 76 Not applicable

October to December 1995 304 Not applicable

January to March 1996 382 Not applicable

April to June 1996 303 Nil

July to September 1996 200 16

October to December 1996 191 20

January to March 1997 266 52

Totals 1.736 88

§ Mr. Kirkwood
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when the Child Support Agency performance statistics for the final quarter of 1996–97 will be placed in the Library; and if the CSA met its performance targets and its charter targets for that year. [5288]

§ Mr. Bradley
The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mrs. Faith Boardman. She will write to the hon. Member.
461W
Letter from Mrs. Faith Boardman to Mr. Archy Kirkwood, dated 7 July 1997: I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the performance of the Child Support Agency in 1996/97. Performance statistics for the final quarter of the year were placed in the Library on 4th June 1997. The Agency was given a demanding set of targets for 1996/97 by the Secretary of State, and performance indicated the good progress made in its main activities, with four out of five targets achieved in full. Full details of performance against the targets are shown in the attached table 1. The original Agency Charter was published in April 1993 to coincide with the launch of the Agency. It has now been revised, following consultation with Agency staff, client representative groups, DSS Headquarters, and the Citizen's Charter Unit. The new Charter was published in November 1996, and was the first Agency leaflet to be awarded the Plain English Campaign "Crystal Mark". Performance in 1996/97 against the revised standards is shown in the attached table 2. I hope this is helpful.

Table 1

Secretary of State Target 1996–97 Performance

£380m in £400m to be collected by the Agency or arranged for direct payment. £399.89 million

To achieve continuing improvement in accuracy so that in at least 85 per cent. of cases checked during March 1997 the assessment value will be for the correct amount. 87 per cent.

95 per cent. of payments to parents with care to be made within 10 working days of receipt from the absent parent. 98 per cent.

Maintenance assessments:

60 per cent. to be cleared within 26 weeks. 54 per cent.

At 31 March 1997, no more than 10 per cent. of all applications to be over 52 weeks old. 12 per cent.

Second tier reviews:

55 per cent. to be cleared within 13 weeks. 66 per cent.

80 per cent. to be cleared within 26 weeks. 88 per cent.

At 31 March 1997, no more than 15 per cent. to be over 26 weeks old. 10 per cent.

Table 2

Charter standards Performance Per cent.

We aim to complete new assessments within 26 weeks. 54

We aim to pay parents with care their maintenance within 10 working days of receipt from the absent parent. 98

We aim to review assessments within 26 weeks. 88

We aim to send all the necessary information to the appeal tribunal within 13 weeks. 82

We aim to answer your telephone call with 20 seconds if you phone with a general enquiry during normal working hours. 64

We aim to reply to letters within 10 working days of receiving them. 52

We aim to see you within 10 minutes of your arrival if you have booked an appointment. 100

We aim to acknowledge your complaint within 2 working days. 92

We aim to send a full reply within 10 working days. 62

462W

§ Mr. Kirkwood
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security in how many Child Support Agency cases(a) liability orders have been registered in the county court, (b) inspectors have been appointed and (c) category C IMAs have been made. [5258]

§ Mr. Bradley
The Government believes all children are entitled to the support of both parents, irrespective of where they live. We cannot tolerate absent parents not paying the maintenance that they owe. It is therefore right that the Child Support Agency should chase up fathers who avoid paying.
The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mrs. Faith Boardman. She will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Mrs. Faith Boardman to Mr. Archy Kirkwood dated 7 July 1997: I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the enforcement of maintenance assessments. Legal action against an absent parent is a serious step, and is not taken lightly by the Agency. Nevertheless, if all other voluntary methods have failed, and if a deduction from earnings order is not a possibility, then a liability order is applied for. The Agency's intention in such cases is to secure maintenance—it is hoped that the threat of such action will be enough to ensure compliance. During 1996/7 the Agency initiated liability order action in 2101 cases. The number of cases where a liability order was granted during 1996/7 was 1136. Additionally, since May 1996 the Agency has been able to enter liability orders in the County Court Register of Judgments in England and Wales. In 1996/97, 110 liability orders were entered in the County Court Register. In the first two months of 1997/98, 78 liability orders have been entered in the Register. Under Section 15 of the Child Support Agency 1991, the Secretary of State may appoint a designated officer to act as an inspector, to visit an employer or self-employed absent parent in order to obtain relevant information on a specific case. The Agency does not employ staff specifically to undertake the role of an inspector. Where it is appropriate to utilise inspectorate powers, a suitably qualified and experienced officer is designated. We do not collate information on the number of cases where it has been necessary to invoke the powers of an inspector. Category C interim maintenance assessments are only used where a self-employed person is genuinely attempting to cooperate, but is having difficulty providing all the necessary information. Where a self-employed person is being deliberately uncooperative a punitive Category A interim maintenance assessment is imposed. Very few Category C interim maintenance assessments have been made since their introduction in April 1995; the numbers are as follows:

1995/96: 10

1996/97: 3

1997/98: 1 (to 31.5.97)

I hope this is helpful.

Child Support Agency live and assessed cases; full maintenance assessments (FMAs) and parent/person with care benefit status
	June 1994	March 1995	February 1996	February 1997
Number of live and assessed cases	203,600	345,400	460,800	579,200
Number of FMAs	152,100	257,900	369,100	498,500
Proportion of parents with care
In receipt of income support	86.2 per cent.	83.5 per cent.	77.0 per cent.	73.1 per cent.
In receipt of family credit and disabled working allowance	8.9 per cent.	10.5 per cent.	13.2 per cent.	15.2 per cent.
Not in receipt of means tested benefit	4.9 per cent.	6.0 per cent.	9.8 per cent.	11.7 per cent.

Absent parents full maintenance assessments by net income for assessable purposes
28 February 1997
	Absent parents net income
Maintenance (£ per week)	Total	£0.00	£0.01–£49.99	£50.00–£99.99	£100.00–£149.99	£150.00–£199.99
Total	498,500	203,500	19,100	28,900	57,500	80,100
£0.00	192,800	155,700	5,400	14,800	8,800	6,400
£0.01–£4.80	77,200	38,500	13,800	11,900	10,100	2,900
£4.81–£9.99	10,000	300	—	1,400	4,900	2,600
£10.00–£19.99	25,000	700	—	800	12,900	7,900
£20.00–£29.99	30,200	1,500	—	100	11,500	11,200
£30.00–£39.99	34,000	2,000	—	—	7,100	14,500
£40.00–£49.99	37,000	1,400	—	—	2,100	18,300

	Absent parents net income
Maintenance (£ per week)	£200.00–£249.99	£250.00–£299.99	£300.00–£349.99	£350.00–£399.99	£400.00–£449.99	£450.00–or more
Total	53,800	29,700	12,400	6,800	3,300	3,300
£0.00	1,400	200	—	—	—	—
£0.01–£4.80	100	—	—	—	—	—
£4.81–£9.99	800	—	—	—	—	—
£10.00–£19.99	2,300	400	—	100	—	—
£20.00–£29.99	4,700	1,000	300	—	—	—
£30.00–£39.99	7,400	2,300	400	200	—	—
£40.00–£49.99	9,600	3,900	100	400	100	—
£50.00–£59.99	9,600	5,300	1,500	700	200	—
£60.00–£69.99	13,600	5,100	1,900	1,100	300	100
£70.00–£79.99	4,200	7,200	2,400	1,000	500	100
£80.00–£89.99	100	4,100	2,700	1,200	600	200
£90.00–£99.99	—	100	1,800	1,100	600	200
£100.00–£109.99	—	—	300	700	500	200
£110.00–£119.99	—	—	—	300	200	300
£120.00 and over	—	—	—	—	200	700

Child Support Agency payment compliance via regular payment accounts
Full Maintenance Assessments (including all categories—excluding suspended and deferred cases)
	Total	Not applicable	Sub total	Full	Per cent.	Partial	Per cent.	Nil	Per cent.
November 1995	341,500	221,700	119,900	22,800	19	41,700	35	55,400	46
February 1996	369,100	238,100	130,900	30,200	23	43,500	33	57,200	44
May 1996	395,500	254,200	141,200	35,900	25	48,200	34	57,200	41

Interim maintenance assessments
	Total	Not applicable	Sub total	Full	Per cent.	Partial	Per cent.	Nil	Per cent.
November 1995	94,000	20,400	73,600	400	1	4,100	5	69,100	94
February 1996	91,800	21,300	70,500	500	1	4,700	7	65,200	92
May 1996	89,200	21,000	68,100	500	1	4,600	7	63,000	92
August 1996	86,200	21,800	64,300	500	1	4,300	7	59,500	92
November 1996	83,200	22,600	60,600	700	1	4,500	8	55,400	91
February 1997	80,700	24,400	56,300	600	1	4,000	7	51,700	92

Quarter	Number of complaints
October to December 1995	7,609
January to March 1996	6,257
April to June 1996	6,275
July to September 1996	6,259
October to December 1996	5,808
January to March 1997	5,870

Quarter	Chief Executive	Ministers
October to December 1995	2,322	455
January to March 1996	2,412	370
April to June 1996	2,338	402
July to September 1996	2,102	319
October to December 1996	2,333	346
January to March 1997	2,266	347

Child Support Agency initial period arrears cases
Period	Initial period arrears deferred — number of cases	Number of cases where person with care has been compensated
April to June 1995	14	Not applicable
July to September 1995	76	Not applicable
October to December 1995	304	Not applicable
January to March 1996	382	Not applicable
April to June 1996	303	Nil
July to September 1996	200	16
October to December 1996	191	20
January to March 1997	266	52
Totals	1.736	88

Table 1
Secretary of State Target 1996–97	Performance
£380m in £400m to be collected by the Agency or arranged for direct payment.	£399.89 million
To achieve continuing improvement in accuracy so that in at least 85 per cent. of cases checked during March 1997 the assessment value will be for the correct amount.	87 per cent.
95 per cent. of payments to parents with care to be made within 10 working days of receipt from the absent parent.	98 per cent.
Maintenance assessments:
60 per cent. to be cleared within 26 weeks.	54 per cent.
At 31 March 1997, no more than 10 per cent. of all applications to be over 52 weeks old.	12 per cent.
Second tier reviews:
55 per cent. to be cleared within 13 weeks.	66 per cent.
80 per cent. to be cleared within 26 weeks.	88 per cent.
At 31 March 1997, no more than 15 per cent. to be over 26 weeks old.	10 per cent.

Table 2
Charter standards	Performance Per cent.
We aim to complete new assessments within 26 weeks.	54
We aim to pay parents with care their maintenance within 10 working days of receipt from the absent parent.	98
We aim to review assessments within 26 weeks.	88
We aim to send all the necessary information to the appeal tribunal within 13 weeks.	82
We aim to answer your telephone call with 20 seconds if you phone with a general enquiry during normal working hours.	64
We aim to reply to letters within 10 working days of receiving them.	52
We aim to see you within 10 minutes of your arrival if you have booked an appointment.	100
We aim to acknowledge your complaint within 2 working days.	92
We aim to send a full reply within 10 working days.	62