§ Mr. WillettsTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will place in the Library a copy of the Child Support Agency costings required by his Department's Euro Programme. [24212]
§ Malcolm WicksShould the UK decide to enter the single currency, costs to the DWP will depend on the approach taken. Details of progress on DWP's euro preparations work were included in the Fifth Report on Euro Preparations, published in November 2001. The report is available in the Library.
§ Ms WalleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the timetable for implementation of the new Child Support Agency maintenance laws; and if he will make a statement. [28918]
§ Malcolm WicksChanges to the child support scheme will take effect for new cases from April 2002. Existing cases will be transferred when the new scheme is working well, we expect this to be about a year later.
§ Mr. KirkwoodTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what additional resources have been allocated to the Independent Case Examiner in anticipation of the child support reforms. [30958]
§ Malcolm WicksPlans are being developed to deal with any anticipated potential increase in the work load of the Independent Case Examiner arising from the introduction of the new child support scheme. Appropriate levels of resource will be determined as part of the planning process.
§ Mr. KirkwoodTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many staff have worked for the Independent Case Examiner Service in each year since its creation. [30959]
§ Malcolm WicksDetails of the number of staff working for the Independent Case Examiner's Office, in each year since the establishment of the office (in April 1997), are in the table.
Staff employed 1997–98 41 1998–99 38 1999–2000 46 2000–01 60 2001–02 172 2001–02 280 1 Figures as at 25 January 2002 2 Projected to 31 March 2002
§ Mr. KirkwoodTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the budget of the Independent Case Examiner has been in each year since its creation. [30960]
§ Malcolm WicksDetails of the actual costs of funding the Independent Case Examiner's office, in each year since its creation are in the table:
Annual budget 1997–98 1,025,675 1998–99 920,960 1999–2000 1,040,811 2000–01 1,176,087 2001–02 11,619,945 Projected expenditure to 31 March 2002