§ Mr. WebbTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list each of the categories of family that will be worse off as a result of the child support measures contained in the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Bill; if he will list in each case the number of(a) families and (b) children so affected; and if he will estimate the average loss for each group. [104141]
§ Angela EagleThe impact of the child support reforms will depend on a number of different factors, including the level of child support liability, whether this liability is being paid and whether the parent with care is on benefit. Over one million children will benefit from the reforms. However, in order to forecast which individual families are likely to be better or worse off as a result of the changes, we would need to establish the extent to which the non-resident parent is compliant now and estimate future compliance. We have not made such estimates; these could be provided only at disproportionate cost and we are not confident that the results would be reliable.
It is inevitable that there will be differences in liability between the current and the new schemes. Under the new scheme we will get more parents paying more of what is due for their children. Payments of maintenance are already fully ignored in Working Families Tax Credit. Parents with care on Income Support will see the benefit of maintenance for the first time. They will gain up to £10 a week through the introduction of the new child maintenance premium. The payment of regular, reliable maintenance will also form a foundation on which parents with care can consider options for work.
§ Mr. WebbTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what estimate he has made of the likely completion date of the computer system being prepared for the Child Support Agency; and if it is his policy not to implement the new maintenance formula contained in the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Bill until that computer system is in place. [104139]
§ Angela EagleWe have always made clear that we intend to introduce the new child support system as soon as possible, but that will not be before the end of 2001 at the earliest. We are determined not to repeat the failures of the current system by introducing reforms too quickly or before new IT systems are ready.