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13 July 2009 : Column 54Wcontinued
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many (a) compliant non-resident parents and (b) non-compliant non-resident parents who were registered with the Child Support Agency on the latest date for which figures are available were paying maintenance at the (i) basic, (ii) reduced, (iii) flat and (iv) nil rate; [279120]
(2) what steps are taken to monitor the income and maintenance liability of non-resident parents in respect of whom the Child Support Agency has made nil maintenance calculations. [281754]
Helen Goodman: [holding answers 12 and 22 June 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 right 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 many (a) compliant non-resident parents and (b) non-compliant non-resident parents who were registered with the Child Support Agency on the latest date for which figures are available were paying maintenance at the (i) basic rate, (ii) reduced rate, (iii) flat rate and (iv) nil rate. [279120] and;
What steps are taken to monitor the income and maintenance liability of non-resident parents in respect of whom the Child Support Agency has made nil maintenance calculations. [281754]
The terms, basic, reduced, and flat rate maintenance apply to current scheme cases only. The information you have requested for compliant non-resident parents in these categories is shown in the attached table. Compliance is defined as those non-resident parents in each quarter who have paid maintenance. Non-compliant non-resident parents are those from whom maintenance has been requested but who have not paid maintenance in the previous quarter. Therefore I have also included information on non-compliant cases assessed at the basic, reduced, flat rate maintenance for current scheme cases only in the attached table.
It should be noted that the compliance measure has been replaced by the more useful maintenance outcomes measure, which includes both those cases where the non-resident parent pays maintenance direct to the parent with care and those cases with a maintenance assessment but which have yet to be asked for maintenance. This is a more accurate measure of the impact the Commission is having on improving the proportion of parents paying maintenance. I have therefore also set out the number of cases with a positive maintenance outcome under the categories you have requested in the attached Table 2.
In addition to the information on basic, reduced and flat rate current scheme cases set out in the attached table, in the quarter to March 2009 there were 106,300 current scheme cases with a nil maintenance assessment.
The Child Support Agency is required to recalculate the maintenance liability when either parent provides information indicating that relevant circumstances have changed. It does not contact clients who have not reported any change to review their current maintenance liability.
Under the future statutory child maintenance scheme, the Commission will calculate maintenance liability based on a non-resident parent's gross income. This information will be provided by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and will be for the latest available tax year. Maintenance liability will also be reviewed annually with updated information received from HMRC, ensuring that in cases where neither parent has reported a change of circumstances any change in gross income will be notified to the Commission.
As with the current scheme, either parent will be able to notify the Commission of a change of circumstances which affects gross income and therefore maintenance liability. Cases with a change of circumstances which would trigger a review of a nil maintenance calculation can be reassessed without waiting for confirmation of the gross income from HMRC. It is intended that this new statutory maintenance scheme will be introduced from 2011, with existing cases moving to the new scheme over a period of 3 years.
I hope you find this answer helpful.
Table 1: Compliance | |||
Flat rate | Basic rate | Reduced rate | |
Table 2: Maintenance outcomes | |||
Flat rate | Basic rate | Reduced rate | |
Notes: 1. The compliance measure includes those cases where a payment has been requested in the quarter to March 2009. 2. Compliant cases have been classed as those cases which have paid maintenance in the quarter to March 2009, excluding maintenance direct cases. 3. Non-compliant cases have been classed as those cases which have a payment schedule in place and have not paid maintenance in the quarter to March 2009, excluding maintenance direct cases. 4. Under Maintenance Outcomes, cases receiving maintenance includes those cases with a positive maintenance assessment receiving maintenance, including maintenance direct cases. 5. Cases not receiving maintenance include cases with a maintenance assessment where the agency has not yet asked for payment. 6. All figures are rounded to the nearest 100. 7. All figures include current scheme cases only. |
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the answer of 24 November 2008, Official Report, columns 977-8W, on the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission: ICT, what the budget for the gross income statutory maintenance scheme is. [279988]
Helen Goodman [holding answer 15 June 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 right hon. Member with the information requested.
In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the Answer of 24 November 2008 Official Report columns 977-8W on the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission: ICT what the budget for the gross income statutory maintenance scheme is. [279988]
The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission has agreed funding and budgets only until March 2011, when the current spending review period ends. In the current spending review period the Commission has set aside £215m as investment in new services. These costs cover implementing the new legislation; developing, building and launching the future statutory maintenance scheme; recruiting and training the additional people needed during the transition period; setting up and managing the first residual arrears cases; and redesigning and restructuring the organisation and its processes. During this period of great change, long term costs and funding will be continually reviewed to ensure the greatest efficiency and effectiveness is achieved when providing the statutory maintenance scheme.
I hope you find this answer helpful.
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what account the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission takes of the circumstances of (a) resident parents and their families and (b) non-resident parents and their families in determining child maintenance. [281841]
Helen Goodman: 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, what account the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission takes of the circumstances of (a) resident parents and their families and (b) non-resident parents and their families in determining child maintenance. [281841]
Different rules apply to the calculation of child maintenance liabilities, dependant on whether the application for maintenance was effective before the 3rd of March 2003 (such cases are referred to as the "old scheme") or received on or after this date (and referred to as the "current scheme").
In the old scheme, the income of both the parent with care and the non-resident parent is taken into account where the Child Support Agency calculates the amount of child maintenance that the non-resident parent should pay. The personal circumstances of both parents are recognised in the assessment process insofar that the Agency must take into account the amount each parent pays in housing costs, for example, and also in the inclusion of certain allowances where parents have to support dependant children.
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