| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Child Support Agency
Mr. Clapham: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) how many cases the CSA is currently dealing with and how many were wrongly assessed in the last year for which figures are available; [89052]
- (2) how much (a) compensation has been paid to clients and (b) arrears have been removed from clients' cases by the CSA, for excessive delay in processing cases (i) since its establishment and (ii) in the last year for which figures are available. [89051]
Angela Eagle: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mrs. Faith Boardman. She will write to my hon. Friend shortly.
Letter from Faith Boardman to Mr. Michael Clapham, dated 30 June 1999:
1 Jul 1999 : Column: 244
I am replying to your Parliamentary Questions to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the Child Support Agency.
At the end of 1998/99 year the Agency was dealing with 923,960 live and assessed cases.
One of the targets that the Secretary of State set the Agency for 1998/99 was that the cash value of all assessments checked throughout the full year was to be correct in at least 75% of cases. The Agency exceeded this target, with the cash value of 77% of the assessments checked being correct to the last penny.
In April 1995 a scheme was introduced to encourage future compliance by non-resident parents in certain cases by deferring arrears which had accrued due to processing delays by the Agency. Provided the non-resident parent complies with the maintenance assessment for 52 weeks, he is only held liable for the latest six months of the arrears. Where the parent with care suffers financial loss as a result of this arrangement the balance is paid by the Agency as compensation.
In April 1997 the Agency began to clear the backlog of approximately 495,000 cases that had been awaiting assessment for over 52 weeks, and are eligible for the scheme. That backlog has now been reduced to about 47,000 at 31 March 1999--324,859 were cleared during 1998/99.
From the commencement of the scheme until the end of the March 1999 a total of £2,180K has been paid as compensation to parents with care, with £1,297K being paid in the 1998/99 year.
Non-resident parents have had a total of £18.32M of their arrears deferred under this scheme, with £6.6M being deferred in the 1998/99 year.
The figures provided for the 1998/99 year are indicative amounts and have yet to be audited and agreed by the National Audit Office. They may, therefore, be subject to change.
The Agency's Annual Report and Accounts 1998/99 is due to be published next month and I will arrange to send you a copy shortly after issue.
I hope that you find this reply helpful.
Benefit Recipients
Ms Roseanna Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the benefits for which he is able to provide regional and national breakdowns of number of recipients. [89076]
Angela Eagle: The benefits for which a regional and national breakdown of the numbers of recipients can be provided are as follows. These are included in the annual Social Security Statistics publication.
Incapacity Benefit (IB)
A regional breakdown cannot be provided for the following benefits, but can be supplied at a national level.
Severe Disablement Allowance (SDA)
Maternity Allowance (MA)
Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB)
Reduced Earnings Allowance/Retirement Allowance (REA/RA)
Attendance Allowance (AA)
Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
Income Support (IS)
Family Credit (FC)
Disability Working Allowance (DWA)
Jobseeker's Allowance (Income Based) (JSA (IB))
Jobseeker's Allowance (Contribution Based) (JSA(CB))
Housing Benefit (HB)
Council Tax Benefit (CTB)
Child Support Allowance (CSA).
Retirement Pension (RP)
Widows Benefit (WB).
Research Grants
Mr. Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how much was awarded (a) in total and (b) to each higher education establishment in the form of research grants in each year since 1995. [88830]
Mr. Mudie: The Higher Education Statistics Agency annual volume "Resources of Higher Education Institutions" contains the data requested. The relevant volumes are already available in the Library.
New Deal
Mr. David Marshall: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many (a) men and (b) women have been sanctioned under the New Deal to date (i) in each of the New Deal geographical units of delivery, (ii) for the gateway and (iii) for each of the four options. [89021]
Mr. Andrew Smith: The following table shows the stage in New Deal when sanctions have been applied to participants, split by Employment Service region and gender, up to the end of May 1999.
1 Jul 1999 : Column: 245
1 Jul 1999 : Column: 245
A breakdown of the reasons for sanctions are: Gateway, those sanctioned for failure to attend an adviser interview; Options, those sanctioned for refusal, failure to attend or misconduct on any of the New Deal Options; Other, those New Deal participants sanctioned or disallowed for any other reason.
Mr. Todd:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, pursuant to his answer of 16 April 1999, Official Report, column 381, if he will list the money spent per primary age pupil (a) from local education authorities, (b) from central Government and (c) in total (i) in 1996-97, (ii) in 1997-98 and (iii) in 1998-99 for each local education authority ranked in descending order of total spend in 1998-99. [89113]
Ms Estelle Morris:
In my reply to my hon. Friend's earlier question to which he refers, I explained that information for 1998-99 in the form in which it was requested was not yet available, and the situation is unchanged. I will write to my hon. Friend when the figures he requests are available, and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library.
Sir Teddy Taylor:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many local referenda are being held to establish public opinion on the future of grammar schools; and if he will publish a list showing the dates of the referenda and the areas involved. [88946]
Ms Estelle Morris
[holding answer 29 June 1999]: No referenda are being held at the moment. It is a matter for local parents to decide whether or not they want any such ballots in the future.
Mr. Blizzard:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what steps he is taking to encourage greater use of school premises by the community out of school hours. [89341]
Ms Estelle Morris:
The Department will be publishing guidance later this year on developing school--community links--including the use of premises. The 'Schools Plus Team' is following up the Social Exclusion Unit's report 'Bringing Britain Together' and is considering how schools can make their facilities available to more people.
1 Jul 1999 : Column: 246
Mr. Gordon Prentice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if schools rejected for Beacon Status are given reasons for the rejection. [89283]
Ms Estelle Morris:
The procedure for selecting Beacon schools is completely open and details are published on the DfEE website. Any school rejected for Beacon Status is given an explanation.
Mr. Gordon Prentice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what assessment he has made of the effect on school admissions of the practice of posting OFSTED reports on the Internet; and if he will make a statement. [89284]
Ms Estelle Morris:
No assessment has yet been made. We are commissioning research into parents' experience of recent changes in legislation on school admissions and the information that parents use when deciding the type and place of education for their child. We expect to have results from this research in approximately 18 months to two years.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |