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24 May 2004 : Column 1467W—continued

Carers Allowance

Mr. Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for   Work and Pensions how many (a) claims and (b) successful claims for carers allowance were made in each of the last three years for which figures are available to (i) claimants under 65 years and (ii) claimants over 65 years. [173073]

Maria Eagle: The available information is in the table.
 
24 May 2004 : Column 1468W
 

	1 December 2001 to 30 November 2002	1 December 2002 to 31 May 2003
Claims received
65 and over	16,695	24,400
Under 65	136,545	68,690
Claims decided
Successful with entitlement
65 and over	11,725	22,570
Under 65	120,250	63,675
Successful In Payment
65and over	840	1,390
Under 65	100,305	51,890

Notes:
Figures are rounded to the nearest 5.
Data on new claims are not currently available for August 2003 and November 2003.
Figures for the number of claims received refer to the number of people making claims and a person may have made more than one claim but they will only be counted once.
Source:
ICA Unit, 100 per cent. sample

Chagossians (Resettlement)

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will meet delegates from West Sussex county council in order to discuss the resettlement of Chagossians in West Sussex. [165573]

Mr. Pond: My right hon. Friend has no plans to do so.

Chagossians arriving in the Great Britain and who are not subject to immigration control, have the same rights as anyone else to seek assistance from the social security system. Generally anyone claiming benefits has to establish a habitual residence in the UK.

Child Benefits/Support

Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions under what powers the child element of jobseeker's allowance and income support will continue to be paid after 1 April 2004. [172892]

Mr. Pond: For families not yet migrated to tax credits, child and family allowances in income support continue to be paid under regulation 17(1)(b) and (c) of the Income Support (General) Regulations 1987 and child and family allowances in jobseeker's allowance continue to be paid under regulation 83(b) and (c) of the Jobseeker's Allowance Regulations 1996. The relevant primary powers are sections 124, 135 and 136 of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 and sections 4, 12 and 13 of the Jobseekers Act 1995.

Subsequently, once tax credits have been awarded and put into payment, child and family allowances will be removed from income support and jobseeker's allowance under the provisions in The Social Security (Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit) (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2003 S.I. 2003 No. 455.

Mr. Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many parents have been found guilty of avoiding paying the   right amount of child support in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK, in each year since 1997. [173245]

 
24 May 2004 : Column 1469W
 

Mr. Pond: 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 Mr. Doug Smith to Mr. Stephen Hepburn, dated 24 May 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 parents have been found guilty of avoiding paying the rightful amount of child support in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK, in each year since 1997.

I do not have the information in precisely the form requested. I can however indicate the number of liability orders by the Child Support Agency in each year from 1997. Obtaining these orders is a pre-requisite for subsequent enforcement action leading ultimately to potential committal to prison. The figures are:

	Number
1996–97	1,125
1997–98	1,374
1998–99	2,033
1999–2000	2,523
2000–01	1,755
2001–02	1,427
2002–03	2,383
2003–04	3,885

Mr. Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what action he will take to provide further support to single parents whose former partners are avoiding paying the right contribution to their child's upbringing. [173246]

Mr. Pond: 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 form Mr. Doug Smith to Mr. Stephen Hepburn, dated 24 May 2004:

In reply 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, what action he will take to provide further support to single parents whose former partners are avoiding paying their rightful contribution to their child's upbringing.

The Agency has taken a number of steps to improve its enforcement work. It has taken action to identify and examine barriers to effective enforcement, has benchmarked its services and simplified the process by which debt is referred for enforcement. Additional staff have been deployed in this area. The Agency's Business Plan for the current year identifies enforcement activity as one of its six key priorities.

Mr. Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to introduce further measures to give the Child Support Agency power to take action against parents not paying the right amount of alimony. [173247]

Mr. Pond: None.

The Child Support Agency already has a wide range of powers.
 
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Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and   Pensions pursuant to his statement on CSA Performance, Departmental Report 2004, page 19, what his forecasts were for new scheme (a) cases with maintenance calculations, and (b) compliance; and what the performance was against those forecasts. [172954]

Mr. Pond: The 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 Mr. Doug Smith to Mr. Steve Webb, dated 24 May 2004:

In reply 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, pursuant to his statement on CSA Performance, Departmental Report 2004, page 19, what his forecasts were for new scheme (a) cases with maintenance calculations, and (b) compliance; and what the performance was against those forecasts.

The Agency will be publishing its annual report for the year to 31 March 2004 in July. This will indicate the Agency's actual performance in the year against targets set by Ministers.

Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his statement on the CSA Delivery Strategy, Departmental Report 2004, page 18, on how many occasions (a) cases have stuck in the system, (b) cases have disappeared from caseworker screens and (c) telephone calls have been routed inappropriately. [172955]

Mr. Pond: The 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 Mr. Doug Smith to Mr. Steve Webb, dated 24 May 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, pursuant to his statement on the CSA Delivery Strategy, Departmental Report 2004, page 18, on how many occasions (a) cases have stuck in the system, (b) cases have disappeared from caseworker screens and (c) telephone calls have been routed inappropriately.

I am unable to provide robust information in the form requested. Ministers have however made regular reports to Parliament on the operation of the new arrangements and these were placed in the library of the House of Commons on 16 July 2003, 18 November 2003, 12 February 2004, and 21 April 2004.

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