§ Chris RuaneTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many(a) Child Support Agency sites, and (b) Child Support Agency staff at each, are dealing specifically with clerical cases caused by the new system failures; [160357]
(2) what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the availability of (a) trained staff and (b) other resources to the Child Support Agency to handle the increase in manual clerical cases due to the failures of the new system. [160358]
§ 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. Chris Ruane, dated 23 March 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 the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Child Support Agency sites, and how many Child Support Agency staff at each are dealing specifically with clerical cases caused by the new system failures; and what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the availability of (a) trained staff and (b) other resources to the Child Support Agency to handle the increase in manual clerical cases due to the failures of the new system.I have looked carefully at the number of staff needed to handle cases clerically. Currently 105 staff on two sites at Newcastle and Cumnock are engaged in this work. I keep this under continuous review and will adjust the figure as necessary.