§ Mr. SheermanTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how much child maintenance has not been paid in each of the last 10 years; and how much of this is due to one of the parents moving(a) abroad and (b) to another EU member state. [166729]
§ Mr. PondI have been asked to reply. The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Doug Smith. He will write to my hon. Friend with the information requested.
Letter from Doug Smith to Mr. Barry Sheerman, dated 24 May 2004:
In replying 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 much child maintenance has not been paid in each of the last 10 years; and how much of this is due to one of the parents moving (a) abroad and (b) to another EU member state.
As at 31 March 2003 the reported cumulative debt figure on full maintenance assessments was £664 million (page 86 para 6.1 of the Child Support Agency Annual Report and Accounts 2002/03.) I have no information to determine how much of this is due to parents residing either abroad or in the EU.