§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) how many people work in the Office of the Independent Case Examiner for the Child Support Agency; [143014]
(2) what is the average duration of an initial review of complaints by the Independent Case Examiner for the Child Support Agency; [143012]
(3) how many complaints are awaiting investigation by the Independent Case Examiner for the Child Support Agency; [143011]
(4) what is the date of reference of the earliest case which was referred to the Independent Case Examiner of the Child Support Agency where the initial review has yet to begin; [143015]
290W(5) for the financial years (a) 1996–97, (b) 1997–98, (c) 1998–99, (d) 1999–2000 and (e) 2000–01 to date, how many complaints there were, (i) which were referred to the Independent Case Examiner for the Child Support Agency, (ii) where an initial review was completed and (iii) where a substantive investigation took place following the initial review; [143001]
(6) what is the waiting time between a complaint being referred to the Independent Case Examiner for the Child Support Agency and the beginning of the investigation of that complaint. [143013]
§ Angela EagleThere are currently 54 members of staff employed in the office of the Independent Case Examiner (ICE), including six members of staff on secondment from the Child Support Agency.
On receipt of a complaint the office of the ICE completes a 'gateway' check, or initial review. Part of this check is to ask the Agency if their complaints procedures have been exhausted, and once this is known, the client is informed whether or not the office of the ICE will investigate their complaint. The average duration of this initial review (gateway check) on cases awaiting investigation is currently four working days. Once the investigation process has begun, the investigation officer will seek to clear the complaint by a resolution process. If this action is not successful or not appropriate, a full report is prepared and issued by the ICE.
There are currently 219 cases that have passed the gateway process and are awaiting investigation by the ICE office.
The earliest case, referred to the Independent Case Examiner where, on 14 December 2000, the initial review (gateway check) was yet to begin, is 12 December 2000. The waiting time between a complaint being referred to the Independent Case Examiner for the Child Support Agency and the beginning of the investigation of that complaint is currently 13 weeks.
The office of the Independent Case Examiner opened in April 1997; no complaints were referred to the office before that date. The information requested is in the table:
1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 Complaints received 1,087 1,226 1,536 1,015 Gateways checked 1,087 1,226 1,536 ,989 Resolution 54 239 445 175 Full report 150 235 220 191