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25 Nov 2008 : Column 1373W—continued
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Children: Maintenance
Mr. Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many new scheme Child Support Agency cases were unresolved within six months in (a) North West Cambridgeshire constituency and (b) the Eastern Region in each of the last five years. [226094]
Kitty Ussher: The administration of the child maintenance system is a matter for the Commissioner of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many new scheme Child
Support Agency cases were unresolved within six months in (a) North West Cambridgeshire constituency and (b) the Eastern Region in each of the last five years. [226094]
The Child Support Agency is now in the final year of its three year operational improvement plan which has significantly improvement client service across the Agency. The Agency committed to reducing the number of current scheme (previously referred to as new scheme) uncleared applications from the 225,300 applications outstanding in March 2005 to 90,000 by March 2009. At the end of September 2008 the Agency had already met this commitment with just 75,700 uncleared current scheme applications. In addition the Agency has improved the time taken to clear applications from just 30% in 12 weeks in March 2005 to 85 per cent. of applications received in June 2008 cleared in 12 weeks.
The numbers of current scheme applications that remain uncleared and are over six months old, in the Eastern Region and in North West Cambridgeshire constituency are provided in the attached table which highlights the year on year reduction in the number of outstanding cases.
I hope you find this answer helpful.
| Uncleared current (new) scheme applications in the North West Cambridgeshire and Eastern Region constituencies | |||
| North West Cambridgeshire Number over six months old( 1) | Eastern Region Number over six months old | Eastern Region (percentage) cleared in 12 weeks( 2) | |
| (1) Information not available on the time taken to clear cases in North West Cambridgeshire. (2) Percentage of cases received in that month which were cleared within 12 weeks. Information not yet available for cases received in September 2008. Notes: 1. Uncleared applications have been defined as those applications that have not yet reached a clearance point. A current scheme clearance is defined as: a maintenance calculation has been carried out and a payment arrangement between the parent with care and the non-resident parent is in place; a parent with care has been identified as claiming Good Cause or is subject to a Reduced Benefit Decision; the application is identified as being a change of circumstances on an existing case; or the application has been closed. 2. Age of uncleared applications is calculated as the time from first contact with non-resident parent or parent with care until the last day of the month shown. 3. Cases have been allocated to parliamentary constituency or region through matching the postcode for a residential address for the parent with care against the Office for National Statistics postcode directory. 4. A proportion of applications can not be allocated to a parliamentary constituency or region. Such examples are where the parent with care's residential postcode is not recorded. In some of these cases, the Agency holds a residential address without a postcode; a "contact" address; or a business address. Many applications have not yet reached the stage in the process where the postcode information has been confirmed. Therefore it is not possible to associate them to a parliamentary constituency or region. Around 12 per cent. of applications can not be allocated to a region or parliamentary constituency as at June 2008. 5. Figures for Eastern region have been rounded to the nearest 100 and those for North West Cambridgeshire to the nearest 10. | |||
Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what percentage of Child Support Agency cases with a current liability received 100 per cent. of the child maintenance owed in the 12 months to June 2008; [230115]
(2) what percentage of the child maintenance liable for the year to June 2008 the £1,010 million maintenance collected represents. [230141]
Kitty Ussher [holding answers 27 October 2008]: The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have therefore asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what percentage of Child Support Agency cases with a current liability received 100 per cent of the child maintenance owed in the 12 months to June 2008. [230115], and
What percentage of the child maintenance liable for the year to June 2008 the £1,010 million maintenance collected represents. [230141].
Since you tabled your questions the latest Child Support Agency Quarterly Summary of Statistics has been published and these latest figures show that in the 12 months to September 2008, the Child Support Agency collected or arranged £1,088 million child maintenance.
The estimated total regular child maintenance liability for the period was £1,350 million. Therefore the £1,088 million the Agency collected or arranged represents 81% of the estimated total maintenance liability.
Of the 756,200 cases with an ongoing current liability as at September 2008 not including arrears cases, 74% of cases have received maintenance with 39% of cases receiving all of the regular maintenance requested over the last 12 months.
I hope you find this answer helpful.
Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of annual funding for the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission and the Child Support Agency required in each year until 2014 to implement the child maintenance reforms of the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act 2008. [230140]
Kitty Ussher [holding answer 27 October 2008]: The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission's most recent annual funding estimates, which will include the one-off costs of implementing the child maintenance reforms, are found in the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission Business Plan 2008-09. This is available at the following email address:
It should be noted that the future costs of the implementing the child maintenance reforms will be driven by the actual choices parents make and their relative use of the different services provided by the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission. The funding estimates were therefore based on the best estimates, trends and evidence available at the time.
Following the full implementation of the reforms we estimate an additional 430,000 children will benefit from an extra £500 million each year in addition to administrative savings of around £200 million each year.
Mr. Pope: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when the Chief Executive of the Child Support Agency will ensure that the hon. Member for Hyndburn's constituent, Mrs Joan Knott, receives the child maintenance which she has been assured she will receive. [231578]
Kitty Ussher: The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have therefore asked the Commissioner to write to the Hon. Member with the information requested.
In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when the Chief Executive of the Child Support Agency will ensure that the Hon. Member for Hyndburn's constituent Mrs Joan Knott receives the child maintenance which she has been assured she will receive. [231578]
As details about individual cases are confidential, I have written to you separately about this case.
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many liability orders have been re-issued incorrectly by the Child Support Agency in Birkenhead in the last 12 months; [233943]
(2) what processes are in place at the Child Support Agency in Birkenhead to prevent the incorrect issuing of liability orders. [233944]
Kitty Ussher [holding answer 10 November 2008]: The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have therefore asked the Commissioner to write to my hon. Friend with the information requested.
In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many liability orders have been re-issued incorrectly by the Child Support Agency in Birkenhead in the last 12 months. [233943]; and
What processes are in place at the Child Support Agency in Birkenhead to prevent the incorrect issuing of liability orders. [233944]
The information you requested on the number of Liability Orders that have been re-issued incorrectly is not available as this information is not routinely recorded.
The Child Support Agency has processes in place to ensure Liability Orders are administered correctly and consistently in all of its offices including the Birkenhead site. Experienced senior case officers are responsible for preparing all applications to the courts for liability orders in respect of the non-resident parent’s child maintenance arrears. The case officer will check the details on the case are correct; checking contact details, maintenance payments paid, preparing a full accounts breakdown to ensure the arrears are correct and ensuring an arrears warning letter has been sent to the non-resident parent.
If the non-resident parent has in the past considered that the maintenance calculation itself is incorrect, they will have had an opportunity to appeal the assessment through the independent Tribunals Service. Once a liability order is being actively considered by the Court, the non-resident parent can make representations for the Court to dismiss the liability order. The Courts currently dismiss less than one per cent of applications. The Agency believes that this is a good indication of the robustness of the checking regime currently in place. Finally, once a liability order has been awarded, the non-resident parent can again bring forward additional information, or indeed settle their arrears and the Agency may again consider whether it is appropriate to proceed with the application.
I hope you find this answer helpful.
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many cases being handled by the Child Support Agency are logged under the (a) CSCS and (b) CS2 computer systems. [234278]
Kitty Ussher [holding answer 10 November 2008]: The administration of the child maintenance system is a matter for the Commissioner of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission. He will write to my right hon. Friend with the information requested.
In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many cases being handled by the Child Support Agency are logged under the (a) CSCS and (b) CS2 computer systems. [234278]
At the end of September 2008, the Agency had a total of 1,339,600 cases registered as live across the CSCS and CS2 computer systems. Of these around 939,100 cases were registered
on the CS2 computer system. This includes around 242,900 old child maintenance scheme cases which were maintained on the CS2 computer system. The remaining 400,400 live old scheme cases were registered on the CSCS computer system.
The Agency also had a total of 44,000 live clerical cases of which a significant number will be included in the cases shown as registered on the computer systems. These are cases which are being progressed clerically but remain registered on the computer systems.
I hope you find this answer helpful.
Council Tax Benefits
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) individuals and (b) pensioners are eligible for but do not claim council tax benefit. [238816]
Kitty Ussher: Latest estimates of the numbers entitled to but not receiving income support, pension credit, housing benefit, council tax benefit and jobseeker’s allowance (Income-based) in Great Britain were published in the "Income Related Benefits Estimates of Take-Up in 2006-07" report. A copy of this and past reports are available in the Library.
Departmental Consultants
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many external consultants work for his Department. [237578]
Jonathan Shaw: The following table provides a list of the external consultancy organisations currently working for the Department. Details of the number of all external consultants currently working for the Department could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
A Robinson Associates
Accenture
AT Kearney
Atos Origin
Bill Freeman
Booz Allen Hamilton
Capgemini
Deloitte & Touche
Deloitte MCS Ltd
Dr Richard Light
Ernst & Young
Fujitsu
Gartner
Hays IT
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