Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
27 Jan 2009 : Column 426Wcontinued
The Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act 2008 will strengthen the range of enforcement and debt management powers available to the new Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission. The Commission will bring these powers into force as soon as practicable in order to build on the Agency's improvements and will continue to focus on collection of outstanding arrears.
I hope you find this answer helpful.
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much and what proportion of outstanding child maintenance arrears were recovered in each month since May 1997. [242178]
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 as the Child Support Agency is now the responsibility of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much and what proportion of outstanding child maintenance arrears were recovered in each month since May 1997. [242178]
This information is available in Table 19.5 of the September 2008 Child Support Agency Quarterly Summary of Statistics (QSS). The latest version is available in the House of Commons library or online at the following link:
The amount of arrears collected in each month from April 2003 to September 2008 is provided in the attached table. Levels of arrears are not recorded in the format you requested prior to the introduction of the current computer system (CS2) in 2003.
The information you requested on the proportion of outstanding child maintenance arrears recovered is not available. Since June 2006, the Child Support Agency has been contracting out the collection of some arrears to debt collection agencies. For cases managed by debt collection agencies, the agreement to pay back the maintenance arrears and in particular, the amount to be paid each month is a matter between the debt collection agency and the non-resident parent. As such, the Agency no longer has the information to assess cash compliance for all cases. Whilst the total amount of debt is known, the monthly amount of arrears the non-resident parent is expected to pay the debt collection agency is not.
In September 2008, the Agency collected or arranged £98.7 million in maintenance of which £14.6 million was arrears. This is the highest level of maintenance and arrears collected or arranged by the Agency in one month ever.
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average amount of maintenance recovered by the Child Support Agency was from all cases (a) with maintenance outstanding and (b) in which maintenance has been recovered in each month since May 1997. [242193]
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 as the Child Support Agency is now the responsibility of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average amount of maintenance recovered by the Child Support Agency was from all cases (a) with maintenance outstanding and (b) in which maintenance has been recovered in each month since May 1997. [242193]
The attached table sets out the average amount of maintenance arrears collected in all cases including those cases where payments have not been received. It also sets out the average amount of child maintenance arrears collected in those cases where a payment has been received. This information, which is only available for cases from March 2003, shows the significant increase in the amount of arrears collected by the Agency in the last three years.
The Agency's three year Operational Improvement Plan, launched in April 2006 focussed on improving compliance and enforcement, to increase the amount of money flowing to children. In the twelve months to September 2008, the Agency collected or arranged almost £1.1 billion in child maintenance, of which £149 million was arrears. This is an 84% increase in arrears collected compared to the year to March 2006.
I hope you find this answer helpful.
Next Section | Index | Home Page |