§ Mr. Frank FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many complaints from Child Support Agency users were received in each year since the establishment of the Agency. [177971]
§ Mr. Pond[holding answer 10 June 2004]: 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 Mr. Frank Field, dated 22 June 2004:
In reply to your recent Parliamentary question about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many complaints from Child Support Agency users were received in each year since the establishment of the Agency.
The figures you requested are summarised in the following table:
Total written complaints 1996–97 23,588 1997–98 27,875 1998–99 28,073 1999–2000 21,015 2000–01 19,634 2001–02 27,735 2002–03 21,734 From April 2003 we changed our complaints handling processes. This has ensured the more accurate recording of complaints and in particular count, for the first time, telephone complaints. In 2003–04 we received a total of 49,215 complaints.
§ Mr. Frank FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in how many Child Support Agency cases where money has been collected from the absent parent money(a) has not been paid over to the parent with care and (b) has been paid back in error to the absent parent. [177972]
§ Mr. Pond[holding answer 10 June 2004]: 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 Mr. Frank Field, dated 22 June 2004:
In reply to your recent Parliamentary question about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
1304WYou asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in how many Child Support Agency cases where money has been collected from the absent parent money (a) has not been paid over to the parent with care and (b) has been paid back by accident to the absent parent.
I do not have the information that you seek. However, I can say that in the period 3 March 2003 to 29 April 2004, nearly 600,000 payments were made automatically by the new computer system to parents with care. In the same period 3,544 payments were made manually because of system difficulties.
§ Mr. Frank FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many Child Support Agency cases there are in which the non-resident parent is in receipt of the child tax credit element of the new tax credit which cannot be progressed to a decision; and if he will make a statement. [177973]
§ Mr. Pond[holding answer 10 June 2004]: 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 Mr. Frank Field, dated 22 June 2004:
In reply to your recent Parliamentary question about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Child Support Agency cases there are in which the non-resident parent is in receipt of the child tax credit element of the new tax credit which cannot be progressed to a decision; and if he will make a statement.
I regret to say that the Agency does not have the information that you seek.
§ Mr. Frank FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many cases the Child Support Agency has on its files that were enrolled(a) under the old rules and for which the old system operates, (b) under the old rules and for which the new system should operate and (c) under the new rules to which the new system applies. [177975]
§ Mr. Pond[holding answer 10 June 2004]: 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 Mr. Frank Field, dated 22 June 2004:
In reply to your recent Parliamentary question about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many cases the Child Support Agency has on its files that were enrolled (a) under the old rules and for whom the old system operates, (b) under the old rules and for whom the new system should operate and (c) under the new rules to whom the new system applies.
We do not have the information in the format that you require. However, I can tell you that around 1.3 million cases are currently being dealt with by the Child Support Agency. Of these cases over 425,000 have been registered on the new computer system; approximately 235,000 of these cases are being dealt with under the new legislation and 190,000 under the old legislation. In addition 890,800 are currently old scheme cases on the old computer system.
§ Mr. TynanTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many compensatory or special payments have been made by the Child Support Agency in each of 1305W the last five years; what the total value of these payments was in each of the last five years; and what proportion of these (a) have been and (b) will be reclaimed from companies providing services or support to the CSA where a problem with the services or support necessitated the compensatory or special payment. [178602]
§ Mr. PondThe 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 Mr. Bill Tynan, dated 22 June 2004:
In reply to your recent Parliamentary question about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many compensatory or special payments have been made by the Child Support Agency in each of the last five years; what the total value of these payments was in each of the last five years; and what proportion of these (a) have been and (b) will be reclaimed from companies providing services or support to the CSA where a problem with the services or support necessitated the compensatory or special payment.
The following payments have been made to clients of the Child Support Agency in accordance with the Department for Work and Pensions consolatory and redress payments guidance:
£ Amount 1998–99 4,351,000 1999–2000 3,075,000 2000–01 3,053,000 2001–02 2,590,000 2002–03 2,478,000 None of the payments have been directly reclaimed from companies providing services or support to the Child Support Agency where a problem with the services or support necessitated the compensatory or special payment. The Department continues to discuss with EDS the provision of their computer service to the Agency and it is possible that some part of these payments may form one element in these commercial discussions.
§ Mr. Ian TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to resolve delays in processing cases by the Child Support Agency. [178904]
§ Mr. PondThe 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 Mr. Ian Taylor, dated 22 June 2004:
In reply to your recent Parliamentary question about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to resolve delays in processing cases by the Child Support Agency.
The Agency is continuing to work closely with EDS to remove the defects within EDS's computer service and which are causing many of the current delays in processing cases. It is also providing further guidance, advice and coaching to members of teams handling new applications with a view to increasing their productivity even within the constraints of the existing computer service.
1306W
§ Mr. Frank FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the rescue package for the Child Support Agency which EDS is to implement by August of this year. [179498]
§ Mr. PondThe 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 Mr. Frank Field, dated 22 June 2004:
In reply to your recent Parliamentary question about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make a statement on the rescue package for Child Support Agency which EDS is to implement by August of this year.
EDS commenced work on remedying defects within their IT system providing support to the Child Support Agency, in November 2003. They have subsequently implemented a number of software releases and hardware upgrades that are progressively improving that service. There are plans for further releases later this year and in the early part of next year. The activity plan for August refers to enhancements to the telephony service.