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27 Feb 2006 : Column 231W—continued

Child Support Agency

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the merits of making existing deduction of earnings orders by the Child Support Agency automatically transferable to new employers; and if he will make a statement. [44780]

Mr. Plaskitt: It is not feasible to make deduction from earnings orders (DEO) automatically transferable to new employers. There is however a requirement on the individual and a new employer, who is aware a DEO exists, to report a change of employment within seven days and an old employer within 10 days of employment ending.

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) for what reason non-resident parents are not required to inform the Child Support Agency of a change in (a) job, (b) address and (c) income; and if he will make a statement; [37942]

(2) if he will make it a statutory obligation for non-resident parents who have been assessed for Child Support Agency maintenance to inform the Agency of changes of (a) address and (b) job; and if he will make a statement. [44762]

Mr. Plaskitt: The non-resident parent must provide all the relevant information to allow the initial child support liability to be established. Thereafter, he must provide further information to the Agency when a specific request is made, except in cases where he is paying maintenance via Deduction from Earnings Order as he must notify the Agency himself if he has a change of employer. It is a criminal offence to fail to
 
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provide information to the Agency when requested to do so or by knowingly providing false information and is punishable by a fine of up to £1,000.

We have not sought to make it a legal requirement for a non-resident parent to report changes of circumstance. We consider it important to provide stability of the amount to be paid and as such a legal duty may not deter someone determined to evade paying.

Following the announcement of the Operational Improvement Plan, the Agency intends to improve their ability to trace non-resident parents who move jobs or address, to try and evade their responsibility to pay. This will include using information held by Credit Reference Agencies.

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 30 November 2005, Official Report, column 608W, on the Child Support Agency, what estimate he has made of the proportion of time staff at the agency spent assessing (a) levels of maintenance and (b) enforcement and compliance activity in 1998. [37945]

Mr. Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is the matter for the Chief Executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.

Letter from Stephen Geraghty:

Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in how many child support cases a reduced benefit decision was administered where a parent with care refused to undergo a scientific test under section 46 of the Child Support Act 1991 in each year since 2001. [52728]

Mr. Plaskitt: The information requested is not available.

Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many penalty payments were (a) issued by the Child Support Agency and (b) paid by non-resident parents under section 41A of the Child Support Act 1991 in each year since 2001. [52730]


 
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Mr. Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Stephen Geraghty. He will write to my right hon. Friend with the information requested.

Letter from Stephen Geraghty:

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will bring forward proposals to make Child Support Agency records reportable at constituency level. [53737]

Mr. Plaskitt: Administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.

Letter from Stephen Geraghty:

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many Child Support Agency cases have been dealt with as clerical cases in each month since March 2003. [21451]


 
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Mr. Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive, Mr Stephen Geraghty. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.

Letter from Stephen Geraghty:


MonthCaseload
October 20048,000
November 20048,000
December 20049,000
January 20059,000
February 200510,000
March 200511,000
April 200511,000
May 200512,000
June 200513,000
August 200514,000
September 200515,000




Notes:
1. This information was not recorded prior to October 2004.
2. Figures rounded to nearest thousand
3. These figures relate to both new and old scheme cases (the latter on both the new and old computer systems)that could not be progressed due to technical (IT) problems




Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what compensation (a) has been paid by and (b) has been sought from EDS for problems with the Child Support Agency computer system since 2001–02. [21452]

Mr. Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive, Mr. Stephen Geraghty. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.

Letter from Stephen Geraghty:

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average time between receipt of an application to the Child Support Agency and the granting of a warrant from a magistrate was in each of the last five years. [29999]


 
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Mr. Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.

Letter from Stephen Geraghty:


Yearly average

Time from maintenance application to warrant granted-committal to prisonTime from maintenance application to warrant granted-driving licence withdrawal
2001–02No sentencesNo sentences
2002–035 years and 4 months5 years and 4 months
2003–047 years and 3 months6 years and 10 months
2004–057 years and 4 months6 years and 8 months
2005–06
(YTD October)
7 years and 8 months8 years and 11 months
Average years6 years and 11 months7 years and 5 months


Yearly average

Time from enforcement referral received to warrant granted—committal to prisonTime from enforcement referral received to warrant granted—withdrawal of driving licence
2001–02No sentencesNo sentences
2002–033 years and 9 months5 years and 3 months
2003–043 years and 8 months4 years and 8 months
2004–053 years and 8 months4 years and 2 months
2005–06
(YTD October)
2 years and 4 months4 years and 4 months
Average years3 years and 4 months4 years and 8 months


 
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Mr. Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the total cost of staff time in managing the EDS contract at the Child Support Agency has been in each year for which figures are available. [30017]

Mr. Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive, Mr. Stephen Geraghty. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.

Letter from Stephen Geraghty:


£
2000–0182,488
2001–02145,902
2002–03211,393
2003–04433,138
2004–05412,422
2005–05(69)232,000


(69) Projected Outturn
Notes:
1. Prior to 2000 the CSA did not have a dedicated Commercials team, the necessary expertise was provided by the Department for Work and Pensions.
2. The CSA Commercials Team was built up gradually once the contract with EDS was signed in August 2000. It is important to note that this team are not solely responsible for IT procurement but are also heavily involved with other DWP contracts that CSA use.
3. Specialist external commercial expertise was employed during 2003–04 and 2004–05. Over an 18 month period this private sector expertise resulted in knowledge transfer to existing civil servants and is therefore not currently required.




Mr. Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what average amount was paid in each month since the Child Support Agency new scheme came into effect to parents whose cases are (a) on the old scheme and (b) on the new scheme. [30593]

Mr. Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is the matter for the chief executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.

Letter from Stephen Geraghty:


 
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Average size of payments received by parents with care per month, from March 2003 to December 2005

MonthAverage payment to parents with care
March 20034
April 2003104
May 2003145
June 2003143
July 2003153
August 2003132
September 2003126
October 2003115
November 2003103
December 2003102
January 2004108
February 200498
March 2004101
April 200498
May 200499
June 2004101
July 2004100
August 200498
September 2004104
October 200499
November 200498
December 200497
January 2005101
February 200594
March 200592
April 200593
May 200590
June 200592
July 200589
August 200589
September 200592
October 200589
November 200588
December 200584




Note:
Figures reflect the average monthly payment (both regular maintenance and arrears) made to parents with care by the Agency for collection service cases. As such, this excludes maintenance received from non resident parents that went directly to the Secretary of State as the parent with care was on benefit, but includes child maintenance premium payments.




Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average time was between the Child Support Agency notifying the Job Centreplus to deduct the £5 flat rate in maintenance from a non-resident parent's benefit and the maintenance deduction made in the last period for which figures are available. [39537]


 
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Mr. Plaskitt: I will let the hon. Member have such information as is available as soon as possible.

Substantive answer from James Plaskitt to Frank Field:

Letter from Stephen Geraghty:

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many Child Support Agency assessments have arrived at a nil assessment in each month since 1 January 2004; and if he will make a statement. [41372]

Mr. Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is the matter for the Chief Executive, will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.

Letter from Stephen Geraghty:


 
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Number of initial new scheme maintenance calculations resulting in nil liability in each month since February 2005

MonthNumber of initial calculations resulting in a nil liability
February 20051,300
March 20051,300
April 20051,300
May 20051,300
June 20051,400
July 20051,400
August 20051,500
September 20051,400
October 20051,600
November 20051,900
December 20051,500




Notes:
1. The figures exclude new scheme cases where an initial calculation has been progressed clerically.
2. These figures only include cases that were initially nil calculated, and excludes cases resulting in a nil assessment as a result of a change in circumstance.
3. Figures are rounded to nearest hundred.




Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the debt arrears reduction target is for the Child Support Agency for (a) 2005–06 and (b) 2006–07; and what the outstanding debt was in each month since 1 January 2004. [41546]

Mr. Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Stephen Geraghty. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.

Letter from Stephen Geraghty:

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 the debt arrears reduction target is for the Child Support Agency for (a) 2005–06 and (b) 2006–07; and what the outstanding debt was in each month since 1st January 2004.

The Agency has a Secretary of State target to collect arrears equivalent to 30% of the amount of arrears over regular maintenance accrued for the 2005–06 reporting year, against which performance as at December 2005 stood at 37%. The package of targets for the reporting year 2006–07 are still in the process of being finalised, the details of which will be published later this year.

The outstanding debt in each month since 1 January 2004 is in the table below:
 
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Outstanding debt£ billion
January 20042.897
February 20042.977
March 20042.981
April 20043.022
May 20043.037
June 20043.063
July 20043.088
August 20043.111
September 20043.132
October 20043.152
November 20043.175
December 20043.197
January 20053.219
February 20053.239
March 20053.253
April 20053.283
May 20053.308
June 20053.326
July 20053.348
August 20053.371
September 20053.396
October 20053.419
November 20053.438




Notes:
1. The debt balance shows the total debt outstanding on both CSCS and CS2 systems and includes debt for all case assessment types.
2. Each month the debt is calculated on a cumulative basis from launch, so the figure shown in the response for November 2005 is the total Agency debt from launch.




Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on how many occasions the Child Support Agency has paid compensation of amounts of over £1,000 for errors by the agency to parents (a) with and (b) without custody in each of the last five years. [44230]

Mr. Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.

Letter from Stephen Geraghty:


 
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Cases paid over £1,000 in each year since December 2001 to parents (both parents with care and non-resident parents)
December 2001 to March 2002 (4 months)109
April 2002 to March 2003357
April 2003 to March 2004385
April 2004 to March 2005846
April 2005 to December 2005
(9 months)
752
Total2,449

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the evidential basis was for the decision to pass some of the debt collection for outstanding Child Support Agency cases to private companies. [45043]

Mr. Plaskitt [holding answer 25 January 2006]: The administration of the Child Support Agency is the matter for the chief executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.

Letter from Stephen Geraghty:

Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many formal complaints his Department has received regarding the Child Support Agency from people in Tamworth constituency in each year since it was created. [48651]

Mr. Plaskitt: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to the hon. Members for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (Mr. Moore) and Hornsey and Wood Green (Lynne Featherstone) on 25 October 2005, Official Report, column 279W.

Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many Child Support Agency cases in (a) Cambridgeshire and (b) Peterborough were in arrears in each year between 1997 and 2005. [48663]

Mr. Plaskitt: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Wellingborough (Mr. Bone) on 14 December 2005, Official Report, column 1985W.

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for what average length of time employees have worked for the Child Support Agency since 1 January 1998. [50243]


 
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Mr. Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.

Letter from Stephen Geraghty:

Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what settlement has been reached with the Child Support Agency IT system contractor in respect of the delivery of the CS2 System. [51878]

Mr. Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive, Mr. Stephen Geraghty. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.

Letter from Stephen Geraghty:

Julie Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on how many occasions the Child Support Agency breached an order by the Independent Case Examiner to perform a named task by a certain date in (a) 2003, (b) 2004, (c) 2005 and (d) 2006; and what powers the Independent Case Examiner has to enforce its orders to the Agency. [51951]

Mr. Plaskitt: Following an investigation into a complaint, the Independent Case Examiner (ICE) will prepare a report of her findings for the complainant and the Child Support Agency (CSA). The report may include recommendations for redress to be given by the Agency, such as;

The Agency will ensure that all recommendations are implemented in accordance with the implementation plans. In circumstances where the CSA is unable to agree recommendations, a full written explanation for
 
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the decision will be provided, and an opportunity given for the ICE to discuss the case with the CSA Board should she require.

The following table shows the number of recommendations made by ICE, and how many the Agency cleared during the same period. No figures are available for pre-August 2004.
2004 August-December20052006 January
Recommendations made by ICE7221,54180
Recommendations cleared8061,484132
Recommendations cleared within timescales5481,194103
% recommendations cleared within timescales688078




Notes:
1. The figures above do not include CSA Northern Ireland cases.
2. Multiple recommendations for special payments which are made on the same case, will be counted as one recommendation.
3. The figures above relate to recommendations made following a full investigation by ICE.




Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when the decision was first made to use private debt collectors for Child Support Agency cases; and if he will make a statement. [45581]

Mr. Plaskitt [holding answer 30 January 2006]: The Secretary of State agreed as part of the Operational Improvement Plan to commit £30 million over the next three years, for private debt collection.

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of child support new scheme cases concern (a) parents with care on income support or income-related jobseeker's allowance, (b) parents with care not on income support or income-related jobseeker's allowance. [18786]

Mr. Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive. He will write to the hon. Member.

Letter from Stephen Geraghty:


 
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