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25 Jun 2007 : Column 436W—continued

You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the (a) average and (b) maximum time has been for child maintenance payments to be processed by the Child Support Agency and made available to the parent with care in the last 12 months.

Information is available for those cases on the Agency’s CS2 computer system. Equivalent data on CSCS payments is not available.

In the year to March 2007 the average number of calendar days between a payment being cleared in the Agency’s bank account and paid out to the Parent With Care was 2 days. This excludes the time taken to clear the funds on receipt from the Non-Resident Parent.

Around 32 per cent. of payments are paid out on the same day, and 93 per cent. are paid out within 7 days of the money being cleared. Unfortunately information on the maximum number of days is not routinely recorded, and therefore not readily available. We cannot provide an answer to part b) of your question.

I hope you find this answer helpful.

Tom Levitt: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many driving licences were seized from payment defaulters as a result of enforcement action by the Child Support Agency in each year since the sanction was introduced. [144061]

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

Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 25 June 2007:

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, how many driving licences were seized from payment defaulters as a result of enforcement action by the Child Support Agency in each year since the sanction was introduced.

The power to withdraw driving licences was brought into effect on 2 April 2001 (under the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act 2000). The court, not the Agency selects the withdrawal of driving licences, committal to prison or a suspended sentence following a successful action brought by the Agency.

The information provided in the attached table, relates to the total driving licence sentences passed for the United Kingdom. Prior to 2002, the Agency did not maintain a robust system for reporting sentences. The Agency’s system for reporting includes sentences passed for England, Wales and Scotland.

I hope you find this answer helpful.

Table 1: Numbers of Committals and Driving Licences
	April 2002 to March 2003	April 2003 to March 2004	April 2004 to March 2005	April 2005 to March 2006	February 2006 to January 2007
Number of suspended prison sentences passed	36	107	*225	*390	*385
Number of Prison Sentences passed	4	9	*5	*15	*40
Number of suspended driving licence disqualification sentences passed	7	9	*25	*35	*30
Number of driving licence disqualification sentences passed	1	1	*5	*5	*5
Notes: 1. The figures marked with an asterix are sourced from the Agency’s Quarterly Summary Statistics. Prior to April 2004, the figures given were clerically collated and are actual figures, not subject to rounding. 2. Figures sourced from the Agency’s Quarterly Summary Statistics are rounded to the nearest five. 3. The figures for 2006-07 are from February 2006 to January 2007 and these are the latest figures published available.

25 Jun 2007 : Column 437W

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many parents with care written to by the Child Support Agency (CSA) have not agreed to have the details of their non-compliant non-resident parent displayed on the CSA website. [144120]

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, dated 25 June 2007:

In reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions regarding 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 with Care written to by the Child Support Agency (CSA) have not agreed to have the details of their non-complaint Non-Resident Parent displayed on the CSA website.

The Agency, as part of the Enforcement Campaign, issued letters to parents with care on 6 June 2007, requesting their consent to name successfully prosecuted non-resident parents on the Agency website. The parent with care was asked to reply before 20 June 2007. The target date has now passed, and the Agency has the active consent to publish the names of 40 non-resident parents to date. Only 18 parents with care have actively refused to consent to the non-resident parent being named.

I hope you find this answer helpful.

Mrs. Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many deductions from earnings orders sought by the Child Support Agency were (a) successfully and (b) unsuccessfully appealed in each month since March 2003. [144787]

Mr. Plaskitt: The information requested is not available.

Mrs. Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of incorrect (a) old scheme and (b) new scheme child maintenance assessments made in each month since March 2003 were incorrect to within (i) 1p, (ii) 10p, (iii) £1, (iv) £5, (v) £10 and (vi) £20 or more of the correct amount. [144788]

Mr. Plaskitt: The information requested is not available.

Mrs. Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of (a) old scheme and (b) new scheme child maintenance assessments made in each month since March 2003 were incorrect. [144789]

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, dated 25 June 2007:

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, how many and what proportion of (a) old scheme and (b) new scheme child maintenance assessments made in each month since March 2003 were incorrect.

Information is only available on the proportion of incorrect assessments from March 2004. This is presented in the attached
25 Jun 2007 : Column 438W
table. Information on accuracy is collected from a small sample of cases and therefore the overall number of incorrect assessments is not available.

I hope you find this answer helpful.

The proportion of incorrect assessments 2004 to 2007
Reporting Period			Old Scheme (%)	New Scheme (%)
August 2003	to	July 2004	16	19
September 2003	to	August 2004	16	20
October 2003	to	September 2004	17	20
November 2003	to	October 2004	18	21
December 2003	to	November 2004	19	22
January 2004	to	December 2004	18	22
February 2004	to	January 2005	19	24
March 2004	to	February 2005	20	25
April 2004	to	March 2005	22	25
May 2004	to	April 2005	22	25
June 2004	to	May 2005	22	25
July 2004	to	June 2005	23	25
August 2004	to	July 2005	23	25
September 2004	to	August 2005	23	24
October 2004	to	September 2005	22	24
November 2004	to	October 2005	22	24
December 2004	to	November 2005	20	23
January 2005	to	December 2005	21	21
February 2005	to	January 2006	20	21
March 2005	to	February 2006	18	20
April 2005	to	March 2006	16	19
May 2005	to	April 2006	16	19
June 2005	to	May 2006	16	18
July 2005	to	June 2006	15	19
August 2005	to	July 2006	15	19
September 2005	to	August 2006	15	20
October 2005	to	September 2006	15	19
November 2005	to	October 2006	16	19
December 2005	to	November 2006	16	19
January 2006	to	December 2006	16	20
February 2006	to	January 2007	16	20
March 2006	to	February 2007	18	22
April 2006	to	March 2007	17	21
Notes: 1. This table shows the proportion of maintenance decisions (calculations or assessments) carried out in the reporting period that were checked and found to be inaccurate by a penny or more. 2. Figures are calculated on a rolling 12 month basis 3. March 2004 is the earliest data available, and March 2007 is the latest. 4. Percentages are rounded to the nearest whole per cent.

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