§ Miss McIntoshTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) if she will make the tracing of absent parents the primary objective of the CSA; [37068]
(2) what proportion of staff at the CSA have as their primary function the tracing of absent parents. [37066]
§ Mr. Keith BradleyWe are determined to ensure that all absent parents honour their responsibilities to their children. One of our key aims is to increase the proportion of parents meeting their financial obligations to their children after separation. Tracing an absent parent is an integral part of the child support assessment process but the Child Support Agency has dedicated teams who specialise in tracking down absent parents where this is not straightforward. Since its launch in 1993 the Agency's specialist tracing teams have located 269,000 absent parents. Around 7,000 staff are involved in the front-line operations of the Agency's business of whom around 70, work in the dedicated tracing teams.
For this financial year and the next we are directing an extra £15 million to the Agency specifically aimed at increasing the amounts of maintenance that are paid. We are looking closely at all aspects of the Child Support scheme to see where improvements can be made and we expect to bring forward a consultation paper on our proposals later this year.
§ Miss McIntoshTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many appeals are currently being processed under the new procedures relating to the Child Support Agency. [37067]
§ Mr. Keith BradleyThe Independent Tribunal Service have around 4,500 Child Support appeals outstanding including 800 appeals Departure determinations. The130W Child Support Departures scheme was introduced in December 1996. There have been no recent changes to Child Support Agency appeals procedures although the Social Security Bill does include provisions for streamlining the decision making and appeals processes throughout this Department including the child support scheme.
§ Mr. ÖpikTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what percentage of men subject to orders for payment have not been traced by the CSA; and if she will make a statement. [36102]
§ Mr. FieldIt is not right that so many absent fathers should seek to avoid paying the maintenance which their children are due. An extra £15 million is to be invested in the Child Support Agency in each of the next two financial years specifically aimed at increasing the amounts of maintenance which are paid.
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. Lembit Öpik, dated 2 April 1998:
I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about men who have not been traced by the Child Support Agency.The Agency does not collect details by gender so I am unable to provide information about men, as you request.When the necessary details are not provided or available, the Agency initiates specialist tracing procedures during the maintenance assessment process to establish the address of the absent parent, the absent parent's employer (where a deduction from earnings order is to be implemented), or the parent with care. It follows, therefore, that absent parents will already have been traced when a maintenance assessment is made or a deduction from earnings order is imposed. If the absent parent changes address after the maintenance assessment has been made or at any time during enforcement action, the Agency will continue to take action to trace his whereabouts.The Agency does actively pursue absent parents who deliberately evade their lawful responsibility and choose to disappear to avoid paying maintenance. However, it is sometimes the case that despite the Agency's best efforts, a positive result cannot be obtained, as some absent parents will go to extraordinary lengths to avoid their responsibility.Specialist trace action is suspended where a confident trace is unsuccessful. In such cases, other Government Departments and Agencies are asked to inform the Agency if they become aware of a new address. Also, an annual specialist trace is carried out on suspended cases; this includes making an inquiry to the parent with care.From its launch in 1993, the Agency has taken on just under 2.4 million cases and completed approximately 385,000 specialist traces during the maintenance assessment process. 269,000 (70 per cent.) of the traces have been successful. These figures relate to the total number of specialist traces carried out. Information on the number of traces relating specifically to absent parents is not available.I hope this is helpful.
§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if she will ensure that any parent wishing to have a meeting with Child Support Agency officers is granted one. [36986]
§ Mr. Keith BradleyWe 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.
131WThe administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mrs. Faith Boardman. She will write to my hon. Friend.
Letter from Mrs. Faith Boardman to Mr. David Hinchliffe, dated 1 April 1998.
I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about parents requesting interviews with Child Support Agency officers.The Agency offers face to face interviews to both absent parents and parents with care as part of its ongoing commitment to provide a high quality service to its customers.The facility for face to face interviews is widely publicised by means of:The Child Support Agency Charter.The Maintenance Application pack and Maintenance Enquiry pack include notes for parents telling them that they can contact an Agency local office if they want advice or further information.Parents contacting the Child Support Agency National Enquiry Line are advised of the facility for face to face interviews, where appropriate.Although most contact between the Agency and its customers is by means of written correspondence or via the telephone, we recognise that a proportion of our customers will need to have face to face contact for a number of reasons. Interviews need not necessarily be carried out at a DSS office, and we are exploring other options, for example, using Citizens Advice Bureaux or other Government facilities to increase our accessibility to the public.The Agency currently has approximately 2,900 staff working in Field offices throughout the country. However, in excess of 95 per cent. of those staff concentrate on backroom paper processing work so they do not have any face to face contact at all and are no more accessible to the public than those in the major processing centres. The number of staff years which are devoted to face-to-face contact is only currently 120 and in many locations there is fewer than one interview per day. We fully accept that this is not sufficient and restructuring will allow us to offer significantly more face to face contact on a peripatetic basis in a greater range of locations.As Ministers have announced, part of our strategy to improve face to face contact with our customers is to work more closely with our colleagues in the Benefits Agency. From April 1998, Benefit Agency staff will interview and assist new Income Support parents with care to complete their maintenance application form where appropriate. Pilot studies have shown this to be welcomed by individual customers. 75 per cent. of our parents with care will be interviewed—customers will have to provide information only once, thus reducing overlap and repetition of work and it will reduce the incidence of fraud.I hope this is helpful.
§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the cost of postage for the Child Support Agency in each year for which figures are available. [36988]
§ Mr. Keith BradleyThe administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mrs. Faith Boardman. She will write to my hon. Friend.
Letter from Mrs. Faith Boardman to Mr. David Hinchliffe, dated 1 April 1998:
I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about Child Support Agency postage costs.132WFigures are available from the launch of the Agency in April 1993 and are shown below.
Child Support Agency—Postage costs £ 1993–94 1,044,006 1994–95 1,617,681 1995–96 1,632,721 1996–97 1,902,453 1997–98 (up to 28 February 1998) 1,542,670 I hope this is helpful.
§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if she will ensure that agreements between clients of the Child Support Agency and the Agency are recorded in writing with copies forwarded to the client. [36984]
§ Mr. Keith BradleyWe expect the Child Support Agency to provide a consistent, fair and efficient service to all its clients.
The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mrs. Faith Boardman. She will write to my hon. Friend.
Letter from Mrs. Faith Boardman to Mr. David Hinchliffe, dated 1 April 1998:
I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about agreements between clients of the Child Support Agency and the Agency.When an agreement to make payments of arrears of child maintenance is made between the customer and the Agency, an officer is required to record the agreement and send both the absent parent and the parent with care a copy of the agreement.I hope this is helpful.
§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security in what circumstances a case where outstanding arrears exist and the parent with care has a right of appeal can be closed by the Child Support Agency. [36989]
§ Mr. Keith BradleyWe are looking closely at all aspects of the child support scheme to see where improvements can be made. We aim to bring forward later this year a consultation document on our proposals.
The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mrs. Faith Boardman. She will write to my hon. Friend.
Letter from Mrs. Faith Boardman to Mr. David Hinchliffe, dated 1 April 1998:
I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about Child Support Agency cases where outstanding arrears of maintenance exist.Where an absent parent has no liability to pay current maintenance (for example, because the qualifying child has left full-time education) and there are no arrears of maintenance, the case is closed. Decisions such as this concerning maintenance liability or the amount of maintenance liability are made by Child Support Officers, and parents have the right of appeal.Where liability to pay current maintenance has ended, but there are still arrears of maintenance outstanding, a case remains open and the Agency pursues this until such time as all arrears have been paid. This may involve negotiating an agreement with the absent parent for an amount to be paid regularly until the arrears have been cleared; all aspects of both parent's circumstances are taken into account so that the agreed amount is realistic and balances the needs of both parents. Such agreements may be reviewed should there be a change in the circumstances of either parent.133WThere is no provision for arrears of child maintenance to be written-off by the Agency. In certain circumstances (for example, the death of a qualifying child) the Agency, acting on behalf of the Secretary of State can use discretion not to enforce arrears due. Where such discretion is exercised, there is not right of appeal.I hope this is helpful.