§ Mr. MacShaneTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he will publish the Chief Child Support Officer's Annual Report for 1997–98. [62587]
§ Angela EagleThe Annual Report of the Chief Child Support Officer (CCSO) for the year 1997–98 is published today. The Report highlights the damaging effect of the excessive complexity of the current maintenance formula.
We are determined to address the problems which the CCSO has identified by tackling the root causes of inaccuracy in child support assessments. The Child Support Agency has already begun to improve the way that it collects information by making greater use of the telephone, actively managing self-employed cases and by freeing local staff to allow more face-to-face contact with parents. The provisions in the 1998 Social Security Act which streamline and simplify the decision making process will be implemented in the Child Support Agency from June 1999. These changes will support further work in the Agency to improve the service that it offers to all its clients.
The proposals for reform will result in a radically simpler system which focuses on a rapid, transparent, and accurate assessment of liability. Improving standards of service is central to our proposed reforms and we are committed to avoiding the complexity which results in the problems identified by the CCSO.