§ Mr. TimmsTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what estimate he has made of the number of absent fathers who have given up work to avoid payments to the Child Support Agency. [18272]
§ Mr. Andrew MitchellThe administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive Miss Ann Chant CB. She will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Ann Chant to Mr. Stephen Timms, dated 6 March 1997:
I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about absent fathers giving up work to avoid paying maintenance to the Child Support Agency. I am afraid that as you imply, my answer cannot be a precise one.To begin with, we do not break down details of absent parents (or indeed parents with care) by gender so I cannot solely cover absent fathers as you asked. Moreover, as people move in and out of employment over the years for a wide range of reasons, it is not practicable to catalogue the reasons for every such development. Having said that, practical experience shows that very few absent parents deliberately give up their jobs to avoid paying legally due maintenance for their children. It is certainly the case that at some stage in the process, some absent parents threaten to take such a step, but the threat seems to be rarely carried out. Such an action would have a seriously detrimental effect on them and any second family they may have, not least because the maintenance assessment formula ensures that all absent parents, and their second families, are at least £30 a week better-off after payment of maintenance than they would be if unemployed and receiving Income Support. No one should now be assessed to pay more than 30% of their net income 85W in current maintenance, or more than 33% in an arrears case. In addition, leaving work voluntarily will have an adverse effect on the amount of Job Seekers Allowance that may be payable.Moreover when an absent parent resumes employment the Agency will reassess liability to ensure the correct amount of maintenance is paid and if necessary will enforce compliance by a detachment of earnings order. In practice we do not even have to take this action very often, so a rough estimate of how many absent parents give up a job and stay unemployed purely to avoid maintaining their children is "very few indeed"—especially viewed against the 1.5 million cases the Agency has now cleared. However there will of course always be some individuals who will go far beyond normal, rational behaviour and will indeed take the action that is the subject of your question.I hope this is helpful.
§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) how much money collected by the Child Support Agency has accrued to the Treasury in the last three years for which figures are available; [18469]
(2) what estimate he has made of the annual saving to the Government in terms of reduced benefit entitlement as a result of the work of the Child Support Agency. [18475]
§ Mr. MitchellThe administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive, Miss Ann Chant CB. She will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Ann Chant to Mr. Harry Cohen, dated 6 March 1997:
I am replying to your Parliamentary Questions to the Secretary of State for Social Security concerning monies collected by the Child Support Agency and benefit savings.Benefit savings are recorded when payment of maintenance or other action by the Agency leads to either a reduction in or a cessation of certain social security benefits paid to parents with care.Figures for annual benefit savings since Agency inception are as follows:
- 1993–94: £418 million
- 1994–95: £479 million
- 1995–96: £493 million
- 1996–97 (to 31 January 1997): £395 million
The Agency does not get direct credit for all the benefit savings generated. During 1995–96 the Agency worked closely with the Benefits Agency to progress initiatives to reduce the burden on the general taxpayer. This meant that some of the savings that would have been scored by the Child Support Agency were instead scored by the Benefits Agency and this effect has carried over to 1996–97.Child maintenance payments are retained by the Secretary of State for Social Security to offset benefit that has already been paid to the parent with care or to refund benefit that has already been paid.As requested, details for the last three years are as follows.
- 1994–95: £54.94 million
- 1995–96: £70.92 million
- 1996–97 (to 31 January 1997): £79.69 million
These amounts are included within the overall figures for benefit savings quoted above. They should be seen in the context of the total amount of child maintenance that has been paid by absent parents (total figures for collected/arranged are quoted below) under this Agency's administration.
- 1994–95: £187.40 million
- 1995–96: £301.50 million
- 1996–97 (to 31 January 1997): £322.34 million
86W
(the target for 1996–97 is a band of £380 million to 400 million, we are on course to achieve this)I hope this is helpful.
§ Mr. TimmsTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many absent fathers in the case load of the Child Support Agency are unemployed; and of those how many were in employment when the agency first issued a demand to them. [18271]
§ Mr. MitchellThe administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive, Miss Ann Chant CB. She will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Ann Chant to Mr. Stephen Timms, dated 6 March 1997:
I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the number of absent fathers in the Child Support caseload who are unemployed and of those how many were in employment when the agency first issued a demand to them.The information is not available in the precise format requested: The Agency does not differentiate between the cases it deals with on a gender basis, and I am therefore unable to provide any estimate concerning absent fathers. Latest figures available show that 253,700 absent parents were in receipt of earned income and 209,100 were not. Absent parents without an earned income include categories such as Income Support as well as other benefits such as Incapacity Benefit. We are unable to provide the exact number that are unemployed. A person who is unemployed could be so for many reasons. We have no reason to differentiate between an absent parent who has become unemployed because they have left employment and an absent parent who is unemployed due to other circumstances. The fluctuation of the labour market, especially at certain times of the year, means that an absent parent can and will move over the years in and out of work.I hope this is helpful.