HC Deb 26 January 2004 vol 417 cc100-1W
Mr. Peter Duncan

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what powers the Child Support Agency has in making deductions from earnings orders against army personnel. [145678]

Mr. Pond

None. However, the Agency can ask Her Majesty's forces to use their discretionary powers to make deductions from the pay of Service personnel.

John Barrett

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps are taken by the Child Support Agency to verify the financial status of a resident parent who has a new unmarried partner in cases where the non-resident parent has applied for departures in CSA maintenance. [147835]

Mr. Pond

The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Doug Smith. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.

Letter from Doug Smith to John Barrett, dated 26 January 2004: In reply to your recent Parliamentary questions about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive. You asked what steps are taken by the Child Support Agency to verify the financial status of a resident parent, who has a new unmarried partner, in cases where the non-resident parent has applied for departures in CSA maintenance. In all cases falling under the "old scheme" where the resident parent (that is, the parent with care) is not receiving a prescribed benefit or Tax Credit, the Agency will seek to verify that parent's financial circumstances. Specifically we will ask the parent with care for evidence of their earnings and any other income, as well as their housing costs. We will do this whether or not the parent with care has a partner and whether or not the non-resident parent has applied for a departure. It may help you to know that, under the "old scheme", if the parent with care has a partner, the Agency will ask for verification of that partner's income only if they share a child. This is because the only relevance of the partner's income is in determining whether we should make full allowance for the shared child in the parent with care's exempt income, or whether the partner can contribute to the support of the child. Under the revised Child Support scheme the Agency does not take into account the financial circumstances of the parent with care in any way.

Mr. Jenkins

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the projected date is for moving all existing child support cases to the new computer system. [149472]

Mr. Pond

I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave the hon. Member for Castle Point (Bob Spink) on 18 December 2003,Official Report, column 1092W.