§ Mr. FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what checks are routinely made on child benefit claimants to ensure their children are in full-time education; and if he will make a statement on planned reforms in this area. [113816]
§ Angela EagleThe administration of benefits is a matter for Peter Mathison, Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to my right hon. Friend.
Letter from Peter Mathison to Mr. Frank Field, dated 9 March 2000.
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about what checks are routinely made on child benefit claimants to ensure their children are in full-time education; and if he will make a statement on planned reforms in this area.When a child reaches age 15 the Child Benefit Centre write and ask the parent or guardian to confirm that the child will be continuing their education after age 16. They write again when the child turns 17 years old asking for confirmation of continuing full time education.In addition, parents or guardians of all children are reminded of the need to report changes, including leaving full-time education, whenever, their award is changed or reviewed. In practice, this is at least once a year.In addition to these routine checks, the Benefits Agency is currently checking entitlement to Child Benefit in a random selection of cases involving 16 to 19 year old children. This exercise will be completed at the end of March 2000. The findings will be used to inform decisions on measures to prevent fraud in cases where Child Benefit continues to be claimed for a person who has left full-time education.