Conclusions and recommendations
1. The
Committee recommends that the Department supplies management information
by 24 March 2005 or that external consultants be engaged by 1
May 2005 to provide by 1 November 2005 detailed up-to-date management
information. (Paragraph 38)
2. We recommend that
a detailed CSA strategy, with a contingency plan, including an
abandonment option, be made available to Parliament before 24
March 2005. (Paragraph 40)
3. We recommend that
the National Audit Office undertakes a comprehensive study of
the background to the CSA contract with EDS, as soon as it is
feasible to do so and that Parliament should debate the findings
in Government time on the floor of the House. (Paragraph 45)
4. We recommend that
the Secretary of State makes a statement in the House on the progress
made in migration and conversion of CSA cases before the scheduled
date for the House to rise for the Easter recess i.e. 24 March
2005. (Paragraph 61)
5. We recommend that
both DWP and CSA create, maintain, and disclose publicly, records
of the staff time and costs associated with the delayed introduction
of CS2. (Paragraph 65)
6. We recommend that
the CSA estimates: how long it will take to put into payment all
outstanding cases still awaiting a maintenance calculation; how
long it will be before it expects new claims to be completed within
six weeks; and how long it will take for new case information
to be accurately collected and passed to the CSA within three
working days of being accepted by JobcentrePlus. We recommend
that these estimated dates are made available to Parliament before
24 March 2005. (Paragraph 82)
7. The Committee recommends
that a strategy for increasing the accuracy rate of maintenance
calculations be developed and published by 24 March 2005. (Paragraph
85)
8. We recommend that
the Department investigates the reasons for the comparatively
low assessments under the new scheme. We also recommend that the
Agency ensures that both parents are, in writing and at least
once a year, kept fully informed of the procedure for notifying
the CSA of changes in the non-resident parent's income. (Paragraph
89)
9. We recommend that
new powers be granted by Parliament to ensure compliance by self
employed non-resident parents including the prevention of deprivation
of income deliberately to evade CSA liability. (Paragraph 94)
10. The Committee
recommends that, before 24 March 2005, the CSA sets target levels
of compliance on old scheme cases. (Paragraph 98)
11. We recommend that
up-to-date cash and case compliance statistics for the new CSA
system are made available to Parliament before 24 March 2005 (Paragraph
101)
12. We strongly recommend
that a debt reduction target and a strategy to reduce debt be
published by 24 March 2005, without fail. (Paragraph 108)
13. We recommend that
the CSA urgently adopts the "whole service" approach
to case management and compliance across all departments of the
Agency as was intended in the first place. (Paragraph 124)
14. The Committee
recommends closer coordination - drawing on information available
concerning the Australian system of Family Relationship Centres
- of services provided across all central government departments
and agencies including the Department of Constitutional Affairs,
Department for Education and Skills to help provide preventative
and family support systems at an early stage of prospective family
breakdown. (Paragraph 128)
15. The Committee
recommends that the CSA urgently evaluates the performance of
the Maintenance Direct pilot and publishes the results. We also
recommend that the roll-out is closely monitored to ensure that
case compliance is maintained and the Agency takes over collection
as soon as they are aware of problems occurring. (Paragraph 132)
16. The Committee
recommends that if a strategy on case migration from the old to
the new system has not been set by 24 March 2005, the Government
should tackle the statutory problems and introduce the £10
Child Maintenance Premium for old scheme cases. (Paragraph 137)
17. The Committee
recommends that an urgent investigation should be undertaken into
the reasons for the lower than expected numbers of Child Support
Premiums being paid under the new system. (Paragraph 139)
18. We recommend that
the DWP undertakes a cost/benefit analysis of raising the Child
Maintenance Premium and completely disregarding child support
payments. (Paragraph 142)
19. The Committee
recommends that more research be done by the DWP on guaranteed
child support. (Paragraph 152)
20. The Committee
recommends that the Department investigates the feasibility of
marking all DEOs in payment on P45 Forms provided to new employers;
and to make existing DEOs automatically transferable to new employers.
(Paragraph 155)
21. The Committee
recommends that Deduction of Earnings Orders should in future
be a standard method of payment for all CSA liabilities due from
employed non-resident parents who default on more than 2 payments
in any rolling 12 month period. (Paragraph 157)
22. The Committee
recommends that Parliament provides, greater administrative powers
to the CSA to recover arrears of maintenance, but, because of
the very poor levels of CSA accuracy, there will need to be appropriate
administrative appeal rights for the non-resident parent, which
should not include a stay pending an appeal's outcome. (Paragraph
167)
23. The Committee
recommends that the Department investigates the feasibility of
driving licence removal from non-compliant non-resident parents
becoming an administrative rather than a judicial process and
its use of such power at a much earlier stage in enforcement.
Once again, though, it would seem imperative, in view of the CSA's
lamentable record of inaccuracy, that there should be an administrative
appeal system, but without a stay pending the determination of
the appeal. (Paragraph 172)
24. The Committee
recommends that Parliament provides additional powers, backed
by court sanctions, to require NRPs to provide current address
and contact details to the CSA. We also recommend that utility
companies should be required to provide a NRP's contact details
to the CSA on request. (Paragraph 177)
25. The Committee
recommends that the CSA makes much greater use of its already
wide-ranging powers of access to information and, if necessary,
that the Department revisits the list of organisations that have
a statutory duty to disclose information to the CSA, with a view
to extending the range and number of organisations covered. (Paragraph
182)
26. The Committee
recommends that the Department further examines the use of travel
bans and passport withdrawal as a child support enforcement tool
for the non-resident parents who persistently default on their
child support commitments. (Paragraph 192)
27. The Committee
recommends that the CSA publishes a revised strategy for staff
training from front-line staff to senior managers to be made available
to Parliament before 24 March 2005. (Paragraph 199)
28. We believe that
the senior management team are responsible for a multitude of
problems within the Agency: they did not recognise that the new
IT system (if and when working) needs to be accompanied by a business
transformation; not least, they failed to lead the Agency through
a significant cultural shift; there is an apparent lack of adequate
training for frontline staff; guidance and procedures appear to
be lacking; and there is little evidence of adequate monitoring
to ensure that frontline staff follow procedures. The 2004-05
focus on supporting staff, outlined in the CSA's Annual Report
and Business Plan, also refers to planned efforts to develop the
managers within the Agency, and the Committee recommends that
this is prioritised and reviewed during the coming year. (Paragraph
201)
29. The Committee
strongly recommends that reductions in the CSA staff levels are
suspended until the IT system has proved to be fully functioning
and all old scheme cases have migrated onto the new system and
been recalculated using the new scheme. (Paragraph 207)
30. The Committee
recommends that consideration must be given to the option of winding
up the Child Support Agency and plans made for an alternative
set of policies that work, in order to provide financial support
for children in future. We also recommend that our successor Committee
considers alternative policies in the event of the CSA being wound
up. (Paragraph 226)
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