§ Mr. WebbTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) if new assessments on existing Child Support Agency cases after April 2002 will be made on the new system; [10434]
(2) if he will make it his policy to bring all existing Child Support Agency cases on to the new formula by 2005. [10435]
§ Malcolm WicksFrom April 2002, new child support cases will have maintenance calculations made under the new system. Most existing cases will be transferred from 611W a common date to the new system. However, some cases will convert earlier if they are linked to a new scheme case. Parents who have arranged their lives around current maintenance payments will need time to adjust to any changes resulting from the new calculation. For this reason, we plan to phase in the new liabilities in stages over a period of up to five years. There will therefore be cases in 2005 that have not reached their new scheme liability.