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Child Support Agency

Ms Lynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many Child Support Agency cases are overdue for their two-year review. [15087]

Mr. Andrew Mitchell: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive, Miss Ann Chant. She will write to the hon. Member.

Letter from Ann Chant to Ms Liz Lynne, dated 20 February 1997:

I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about Child Support Agency maintenance assessment reviews.

I am unable to answer your question in precisely the form as you have requested. The starting point of the periodic review process is the automated issue of the Periodic Review Form by the Child Support Computer System. This currently takes place every two years after a maintenance assessment has been completed. The Agency reassesses cases where forms are returned and all information is provided. We estimate we will complete over 41,000 periodic reviews during 1996/97.

In many cases the periodic review will not result in a revised assessment, because relevant changes in circumstances are generally reported promptly to the Agency by either the parent with care or the absent parent. Once a change of circumstances is reported, a review of the assessment is carried out, so many cases awaiting their periodic review are in fact continuing on up to date information.

I hope this is helpful.

Ms Lynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on the basis of the calculation of the benefit savings figure under the headings (a) maintenance exceeds rate of benefit and (b) resulting from pre-CSA assessment paid through agency collection service to Secretary of State, in the accounts drawn up by the Child Support Agency. [15605]

Mr. Mitchell: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive, Miss Ann Chant. She will write to the hon. Member.

Letter from Ann Chant to Ms Liz Lynne, dated 20 February 1997:

I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the calculation of benefit savings.

In your question you have referred to "accounts" and I have assumed that you are requesting further explanation of two categories in my previous answer of 21 January 1997, ie Maintenance Exceeds Rate of Benefit (known as maintenance cessations), and Resulting from Pre-CSA Assessments; Paid Through Agency Collection Service (known as Liable Relatives Collection Office (LRCO) receipts).

Maintenance cessations benefit savings are recorded where the amount of maintenance paid to the parent with care exceeds the amount of Income Support entitlement and benefit therefore ceases. Such savings come from two types of cases; cases where Income Support is no longer payable before a maintenance assessment is completed, usually as a result of the absent parent agreeing to make a voluntary payment (details of which are collected by Agency field offices), and cases where Income Support is no longer payable after a maintenance assessment has been completed (details of which are collected by the Child Support Agency Centres).

Benefit savings take account of the Income Support that would otherwise have been in payment. This is calculated by using the last weekly payment of Income Support multiplied by 51 weeks. Departmental statisticians have confirmed that this is a safe figure to use.

The calculation of benefit savings attributable to LRCO receipts is a simple process. These receipts represent maintenance payments (voluntary payments and court orders) diverted to the Department

24 Feb 1997 : Column: 83

under pre-April 1993 arrangements and collected by the Agency. They are recorded and are counted towards the Agency's benefit savings total.

I hope this is helpful.

Ms Lynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many payment accounts at the Child Support Agency collection service were (a) pre-CSA arrangements and (b) CSA assessments at the end of each month since April 1994. [15606]

Mr. Mitchell: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive, Miss Ann Chant. She will write to the hon. Member.

Letter from Ann Chant to Ms Liz Lynne, dated 20 February 1997:

I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about Child Support Agency accounts.

The Child Support collection service holds only those cases where a maintenance assessment has been made. Maintenance arrangements made prior to the inception of the Agency (Pre CSA Arrangements) are not paid via this service. Pre CSA Arrangements are paid direct between parents, via the courts or via the Agency's Liable Relatives Collection Office (LRCO) where the parent with care is in receipt of benefit and the payment is due to the Secretary of State.

The number of cases using the Child Support collection service and the number using the LRCO system are available from April 1995 only. The attached tables detail the number of payment accounts that were live on each system at the end of each month from April 1995 to date.

I hope this is helpful.

Live accounts within Child Support Collection Service

	1995-96	1996-97
April	175,113	209,134
May	177,048	211,670
June	179,893	213,744
July	183,058	215,736
August	188,477	219,979
September	192,528	222,104
October	196,670	224,913
November	201,142	227,373
December	202,762	230,316
January	205,193	Not yet available
February	207,640	Not yet available
March	207,465	Not yet available

Ms Lynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the total publicity and advertising budget for the Child Support Agency, and what proportion of this was spent on posters in the last year. [15658]

Mr. Mitchell: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive, Miss Ann Chant. She will write to the hon. Member.

Letter from Ann Chant to Ms Liz Lynne, dated 20 February 1997:

I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the Child Support Agency publicity and advertising budget and what proportion has been spent on posters in the last year.

The 1996/97 budget for publicity and advertising is £643,695.

At 31 January 1997, the Agency has spent £450,977 on publicity and advertising. Of this, 15% has been spent on posters.

I hope this is helpful.

24 Feb 1997 : Column: 84

Ms Lynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the sums collected by the Child Support Agency collection service for each month since April 1994 showing (a) the amount which is recovered by his Department to offset benefit money which has already been paid out, (b) the amount which produces a saving against current income support payments and (c) the amount which produces a saving against current family credit payments. [15607]

Mr. Mitchell: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive, Miss Ann Chant. She will write to the hon. Member.

Letter from Ann Chant to Ms Liz Lynne, dated 20 February 1997:

I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about benefit savings.

In my reply to you of 20 January 1997, Official Report, (Han. Ref: Vol 288, Col 567), I gave a breakdown of all benefit savings collected from 1 April 1994 up to 30 November 1996. This updated the information given in response to your previous questions on this subject. The details you have now requested are contained in that reply.

I assume that the information that you require at part (a) of your question refers to cases where maintenance is paid through the Agency and the full Income Support payment continues. Details of these cases are shown in the previous responses under the headings "Resulting from pre-CSA Assessments: Paid Through Agency Collection Service to SoS" and "Resulting from CSA Assessments: Paid Through Agency Collection Service to SoS".

The amount producing a saving against current Income Support payments where maintenance passes from the absent parent to the parent with care, and Income Support is reduced to take account of this, is shown under the headings "Resulting from CSA and pre-CSA Assessments: Paid Direct by Absent Parent to Parent With Care", and "Resulting from CSA Assessments: Deductions from Absent Parent's IS Payments".

The amount producing a saving against current Family Credit payments is included under the heading "Reductions in Family Credit or Disability Working Allowance resulting from CSA Assessments". Data for this category is obtained by a computer scan. Family Credit accounts for the bulk of the saving recorded, but to isolate the Family Credit elements from the Disability Working Allowance elements to obtain an exact figure would involve disproportionate cost.

Figures are now available to 30 December 1996, and are shown in the table attached.

I hope this is helpful.

Benefit savings update 1996-97 (£ million)

Category of benefit savings	December 1996	1996-97 YTD
Resulting from pre-CSA assessments:
Paid through Agency collection service to SoS	0.02	0.51
Resulting from CSA and pre-CSA assessments:
Paid direct by absent parent to parent with care	9.03	85.89
Resulting from CSA assessments:
Paid through Agency collection service to SoS	7.87	69.76
Deductions from absent parent's I S payments	0.29	3.52
Income Support claim cessations:
Maintenance exceeds rate of benefit	0.53	4.45
Income Support claim withdrawn within four weeks of CSA action	10.19	115.19
Reductions in Family Credit or Disability Working Allowance resulting from CSA assessments	2.70	35.49
Housing Benefit/Council Tax reductions resulting from CSA assessments	3.49	39.53
Total	34.12	354.34

24 Feb 1997 : Column: 85

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