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23 Feb 2009 : Column 43W—continued
Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission: Marketing
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission plans to spend on advertising in ( a) 2009-10 and (b) 2010-11. [250927]
Kitty Ussher [holding answer 27 January 2009 ]: 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 Maintenance and Enforcement Commission, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission plans to spend on advertising in (a) 2009-10 and (b) 2010-11. [250927]
The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is currently developing its communication strategy, and therefore any plans for spend on advertising have not yet been finalised.
Children: Maintenance
Mr. Rooney: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what guidance the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission has issued in fulfilment of its obligations under section 5 of the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act 2008; [249027]
(2) how many (a) parents with care and (b) non-resident parents have been referred by the Child Maintenance Options Service to the face-to-face service in each month since July 2008. [249028]
Kitty Ussher: 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.
Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of people who have made applications to the Child Support Agency since March 2003 have not yet received any maintenance payments; and if he will make a statement. [255262]
Kitty Ussher: 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.
L etter 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 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 many and what proportion of people who have made applications to the Child Support Agency since March 2003 have not yet received any maintenance payments; and if he will make a statement.
Table 2.1 of the December 2008 Child Support Agency Quarterly Summary of Statistics (QSS) shows that 1,677,000 applications have been received between March 2003 and December 2008 under the current scheme. The QSS is available in the House of Commons library or online at:
Table 2.3 of the QSS shows that of the 1,677,000 applications received since March 2003, 39,600 cases with a positive maintenance assessment have still not resulted in a payment to the parent with care. This represents 2% of all applications received.
I hope you find this answer helpful.
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what criteria the Child Support Agency uses in determining whether a consolatory payment may be made; and if he will make a statement; [256032]
(2) how many (a) consolatory payments and (b) other compensatory payments the Child Support Agency has been made to residents of (i) Ribble Valley constituency, (ii) Lancashire and (iii) the UK in each of the last 10 years; and what the monetary value of such payments was in each such year; [256136]
(3) what the (a) highest and (b) average value of consolatory payments made by the Child Support Agency for maladministration was in each year since 2001; and if he will make a statement; [256162]
(4) how many consolatory payments for maladministration were made by the Child Support Agency in each year since 2001; and if he will make a statement. [256163]
Kitty Ussher [holding answer 12 February 2009]: 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 Questions about the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission, the Minister promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what criteria the Child Support Agency uses in determining whether a consultancy payment may be made; and if he will make a statement. [256032] and:
How many (a) consolatory payments and (b) other compensatory payments the Child Support Agency has been made to residents of (i) Ribble Valley constituency (ii) Lancashire and (iii) the UK in each of the last 10 years; and what the monetary value of such payments was in each such year. [256136] and:
What the (a) highest and (b) average value of consolatory payments made by the Child Support Agency for maladministration was in each year since 2001; and if he will make a statement. [256162] and:
How many consolatory payments for maladministration were made by the Child Support Agency in each year since 2001; and if he will make a statement. [256163]
We spoke to your office who confirmed that, in parliamentary question number 256032, the word ‘consolatory’ should be substituted for ‘consultancy’.
Since the 1st November 2008, the Child Support Agency has been the responsibility of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission. The Commission is focused on providing high standards of customer service and seeks to provide rapid and satisfactory resolution of client complaints. In the event that official error or delay has had an adverse impact on a client, the Commission operates a discretionary scheme providing financial redress.
Consolatory payments form part of financial redress and are made by way of an apology for the handling of a client’s case. These payments are not usually large amounts but do acknowledge that a client’s case has not been handled as well as might have been expected. Consolatory payments are considered in very exceptional circumstances, where maladministration has had a direct adverse impact on the life of the client or, much more exceptionally, on that of another person, for example the client’s spouse. Each case is considered individually.
Information on the number of consolatory and compensatory payments made to residents in specific geographic areas is not available as the information is not routinely recorded in this format.
However, the remainder of the information requested regarding the total number of consolatory payments for residents of the UK and the highest, average and total amount of consolatory payments made for maladministration is presented in the attached tables. Information prior to December 2001 is not available, therefore the first full year is 2002/03.
I hope you find this answer helpful.
| Annex B | ||||||
| Consolatory payments (UK figures) | ||||||
| Consolatory | Financial loss | Compensation for delay | ||||
| Value( 3) (£ million) | Number of payments( 2) | Value( 3) (£ million) | Number of payments( 2) | Value( 3) (£ million) | Number of payments( 2) | |
Ms Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many liability orders were issued in each region in each of the last three years by (a) his Department and (b) the (i) agencies and (ii) commissions for which he is accountable. [256242]
Kitty Ussher: I would refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave her on 11 February 2009, Official Report, columns 1977-79W.
Cold Weather Payments: North Yorkshire
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of households in areas covered by weather stations situated in North Yorkshire which will be eligible for cold weather payments in 2008-09. [254220]
Kitty Ussher: The only weather station used for the cold weather payments scheme which is situated in North Yorkshire is Linton on Ouse. The estimated number of benefit units which are eligible for cold weather payments in 2008-09 and whose postcodes are linked to Linton on Ouse weather station is 138,900.
Notes:
1. Some postcodes in North Yorkshire are not linked to Linton on Ouse weather station and some postcodes outside North Yorkshire are linked to Linton on Ouse weather station.
2. Cold Weather Payments are made to benefit units rather than households. For example, a disabled adult on income support living with his mother on pension credit counts as two benefit units but would be thought of as one household. Estimates of the number of households eligible for cold weather payments are not available.
3. The estimate has been rounded to the nearest 100.
Compensation
Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on how many occasions compensatory payments have been made by (a) the Pension Service and (b) the Child Support Agency in each of the last 12 months; and what the total monetary value of such payments was in each of those months. [255757]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Department is focused on providing high standards of customer service and seeks to provide rapid and satisfactory resolution of any customer complaints. In the event that agency error or delay may have an adverse effect on a customer, the Department operates a discretionary scheme providing financial redress. Under these arrangements a special payment can be made to compensate for the impact of any error on the customer.
The information requested is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the following tables.
| Compensatory payments authorised by month by the Pension, Disability and Carers Service | ||
| Number of payments authorised | Value of payments authorised (£000) | |
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