Child Support Agency (Hansard, 20 March 1997)

§ Mr. David Nicholson
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on the progress to date of the Child Support Agency in obtaining child support payments from absent parents who were not previously paying maintenance. [19555]

§ Mr. Andrew Mitchell
The 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 Miss Ann Chant to Mr. David Nicholson, dated 19 March 1997: I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the progress of the Child Support Agency in obtaining child support payments. During 1995/96 the Agency was involved in the payment of over £301 million in maintenance arising from child support assessments. This included about £137 million arranged to be paid direct between parents, and over £164 million collected by the Agency. The amount collected was more than double that of 1994/95 (£76 million). During the current financial year, the total collected and arranged was over £322 million as at 31st January. Achieving the target set by the Secretary of State of £380 million—£400 million will entail an increase of 27%–33% on the collected/arranged figure required last year, but the Agency is on course to succeed in meeting this challenge. The Agency has also become increasingly successful in tracing absent parents. In 1995/96, over 55,000 specialist traces were successfully undertaken by the Agency, the vast majority of which referred to absent parents whose whereabouts were doubtful. In January, 7,361 were successful (the highest ever recorded), bringing the total so far this year to 53,047. 891W The Agency has continued to put an increased emphasis on the enforcement of maintenance payments. In 1995/96 53,000 deduction from earnings orders (DEOs) were issued, an increase of 65% on the 1994/95 figure. During the current financial year 47,814 DEOs have been issued as at 31 st January. The Agency is increasingly obtaining liability orders through the courts, mainly against non-compliant self employed absent parents. The number of liability orders applied for in this financial year as at the end of January was 1,702, an increase of 58% compared with the same period last year. I hope this is helpful.

§ Ms Walley
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his latest estimate of the number of outstanding cases in north Staffordshire currently being processed by the Dudley Child Support Agency office; what is the current waiting time for outstanding cases; and if he will make a statement. [20186]

§ Mr. Mitchell
The 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 Miss Ann Chant to Ms Joan Walley, dated 19 March 1997: I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about cases being actioned by the Dudley Child Support Agency Centre (CSAC) At the end of February, the Agency was dealing with a total of 418,369 cases in which action had not been fully completed; the Dudley CSAC has responsibility for 65,467 of these cases. Information is not available, however, on the number of these cases which originated from North Staffordshire. this could be obtained only by a special clerical exercise, the cost of which would be disproportionate. The Agency measures its performance in relation to waiting times against its Secretary of State target to clear 60% of new maintenance assessments within 26 weeks, and for no more than 10% of cases to be outstanding for more than 52 weeks at 31 March 1997. As of 28 February 1997, 53% of maintenance assessments had been cleared within 26 weeks, and 13% were outstanding for more than 52 weeks. I hope this is helpful.

§ Mr. McAllion
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security under what circumstances the CSA is permitted to pass on confidential information gained from claimants or absent parents to another person or body. [20161]

§ Mr. Mitchell
The 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 Miss Ann Chant to Mr. John McAllion, dated 19 March 1997: I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about confidential information within the Child Support Agency. This Agency only discloses confidential information to third parties in the following circumstances; with the consent of the person involved, to comply with a court order, or under legislative provision to meet statutory requirements. In specific circumstances, the Child Support Act (1991) and associated Regulations, allows the Secretary of State and/or a Child Support Officer to disclose any information held for the purposes of the Act. For example, information may be disclosed to a Court, a Tribunal, an appropriate Authority in connection with Housing Benefit or Council Tax or to another party to the assessment where such information enables that party to understand how decisions, in relation to a maintenance assessment, were reached. 892W The Agency is registered with the Office of the Data Protection Registrar, in accordance with the Data Protection Act (1984). Disclosure of personal information held by the Agency will only be made in accordance with our registration except where specific exemptions apply. For example, disclosure to the Police can be made where it is for the purpose of prevention or detection of serious crime or in an emergency where disclosure is required to prevent injury or damage to anyone's health. I hope this is helpful.

§ Mr. McAllion
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the average time taken to process an application for child support up to the point where the absent parent is informed of his or her liability to pay; and what is the average amount of arrears owed by the absent parent at this point. [20163]

§ Mr. Mitchell
The 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 Miss Ann Chant to Mr. John McAllion, dated 19 March 1997: I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about applications for child support to the Child Support Agency, but I am afraid I cannot give you precise information in the format you have requested. The first part of your question asks for the average time taken to process an application up to the point where the absent parent is notified of their liability to pay. The Agency does not collect general information on average processing times, but measures performance against its Secretary of State target to clear 60% of new maintenance applications within 26 weeks. At the end of February, 53% of new maintenance applications were being cleared within 26 weeks, and 13% of all applications were over 52 weeks old. The second part of your question relates to the average amount of arrears which accrue between an application being made and the point at which the absent parent is informed of liability; this is called the initial payment period. Information is not collected by the Agency's financial management system and debt management system on the average amount of arrears which accrue, during this period. There is no business need to do so, and as several major factors are involved a rough average figure at this stage would have little meaning. For example, an absent parent may have responded promptly to our enquiry form and thus qualified to defer the effective date of the claim for 8 weeks. They may also have been making voluntary payments to the parent with care during this period, and when these are reported and verified, the amount of arrears is reduced accordingly. Finally, either or both parents may ask for the assessment to be reviewed at this stage, which can lead to an adjustment in the original amount. The Agency has, however, addressed the issue of debt accumulating in the interim pay period by establishing early contact with the absent parent to arrange voluntary payment of maintenance and has also introduced a facility to defer the effective date of a claim if an absent parent quickly returns his or her maintenance enquiry form. Encouraging the absent parent to co operate with the Agency shortens the time between application and assessment, thus minimising the build up of arrears. These policies have proved to be effective as, since April 1996. the Agency has recorded over £24m in voluntary payments made during the initial payment period in cases subsequently using the collection service. I hope this is helpful.

§ Ms Lynne
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the number of child support appeals(a) being processed, (b) outstanding for more than 26 weeks and (c) determined in favour of (i) the Child Support Agency and (ii) the client at the end of each month since April 1994. [21473]
893W

§ Mr. Mitchell
This is a matter for the Independent Tribunal Service.