|
|
Mr. Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many liability orders were granted in the last 12 monthsfollowing enforcement action by the Child Support Agency; [135644](2) whether priority is given by the Child Support Agency to enforcement action in cases (a) where the parent with care is inreceipt of income support and other similar benefits and (b) where the parent with care is not; [135645](3) what the maximum acceptable timescale is for the Child Support Agency to complete an enforcement action from its commencement;what proportion of cases met these targets in 2002-03; and what procedures are in place to monitor compliance with these targets.[135755]Mr. Pond: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Doug Smith. He will write to thehon. Member.Letter from Mike Isaac to Bill Tynan, dated 10 November 2003:In replying to your recent Parliamentary questions about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantivereply from the Chief Executive.You asked: How many liability orders were granted in the last 12 months following enforcement action by the Agency; Whether theAgency gives priority to enforcement action in cases where the parent with care is in receipt of income support and other similarbenefits; What the maximum acceptable timescale is for the Agency to complete enforcement action, what proportion of cases met suchtargets in 2002-03, and what procedures are in place to monitor compliance with these targets.From the 1 October 2002--30 September 2003 the Agency was granted 3,169 Liability Orders by the courts in England, Scotland andWales.Where a non-resident parent refuses to pay the assessed maintenance for their child(ren) we always consider appropriate enforcementaction. For employed non-compliant parents the Agency would usually seek to implement deduction from earnings orders from theirearnings. For those who are self-employed, or who have other forms of income, we have to take action through the courts. We alwaysseek to give equal priority to those parents with care who are in receipt of benefit and to those who are not.Currently, there are no set timescales for the completion of enforcement action. The time taken varies according to thecircumstances of the case, the availability of court dates, the non- attendance of the non-resident parent in court, etc. We arelooking to include targets for the different processes that comprise our enforcement action next year. |