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13 July 2009 : Column 57Wcontinued
The process for the current scheme is more straightforward. The amount of maintenance that should be paid is based solely on the net weekly income of the non-resident parent, and the circumstances of the parent with care are not taken into account. However, if there are any children residing in the non-resident
parent's household then the net weekly income on which the maintenance assessment is based will be reduced by a set percentage, prior to a maintenance calculation being completed. A further reduction may also apply if the non-resident parent is on a low income.
I hope you find this answer helpful.
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many formal complaints were received by the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission and its predecessor in each of the last five years; and how many such complaints were upheld. [281845]
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 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 formal complaints were received by the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission and its predecessor agencies in each of the last five years; and how many such complaints were upheld. [281845]
The number of complaints received is shown in the attached table. The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission took responsibility for the Child Support Agency on the 1st November 2008. Therefore, for 2008/2009, complaints received prior to 1st November will be directed to the Child Support Agency and complaints received post 1st November will be directed to the Commission.
It is not possible to provide information on the number of complaints that were upheld, as this information is not captured within the management information.
I hope you find this answer helpful.
Complaints per financial year | |
Financial year | Complaints |
Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 100. 2. Figures for 2008-09 include complaints received by the Child Support Agency prior to 1 November 2008, and the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission from the 1 November 2008. 3. These figures are published in the Child Support Agency's Annual Report and Accounts. 4. From April 2007, the Agency introduced a new complaints resolution process, which among others simplified the process from three stages to two stages. |
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many applications in respect of child maintenance the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission and its predecessor has made to the courts in each of the last five years. [281847]
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 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 applications in respect of child maintenance the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission and its predecessor has made to the courts in each of the last five years. [281847]
The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission are currently required to apply to the courts for a liability order to obtain legal recognition of the child maintenance arrears owed. Once a liability order has been granted the Commission can then refer the case for bailiff action, or prepare a further application to the court to secure; County Court Judgments, Third Party Debt
Orders and Charging Orders. In addition, where there is a wilful refusal to pay child maintenance the Commission can apply to the court to consider the suspension of a driving licence or committal to prison.
The total number of enforcement processes undertaken, including those applications listed above which were granted are regularly published in Table 21 of the March 2009 Child Support Agency Quarterly Summary of Statistics (QSS). The latest copy of which is available online at:
www.childmaintenance.org/publications/statistics.html and in the House of Commons Library.
In addition to the information provided in Table 21, an extract of which is attached below, the number of committal applications for 2008-09 was 2,940. Information is not available on the number of committal applications prior to 2008-09.
I hope you find this answer helpful.
Child Support Agency-Total enforcement applications granted | ||||||
April 2004- March 2005 | April 2005- March 2006 | April 2006- March 2007 | April 2007- March 2008 | February 2007-January 2008 | February 2008-January 2009 | |
Notes: The information contained in the table relates to applications granted-not applications made. Information on applications made is not available. 2. A liability order is a document obtained from the court showing that they legally recognise that the debt is owing. This is the same in both England and Wales and Scotland. This is required before the Agency can use litigation powers (Diligence in Scotland). 3. County Court Judgement orders apply only to England and Wales. Registers the person with a County Court Judgement Order, which remains on their credit record for six years. 4. Third Party Debt orders in England and Wales instruct a third party to pay any funds owed to, or held on behalf of, the non-resident parent to the Agency instead. In practice this is typically used for banks and building societies. 5. Charging orders in England and Wales are where a County Court Order for the legally recognised debt is attached to the equity in the non-resident parent's property. They are then unable to re-mortgage or sell the property without satisfying the debt. If they satisfy the debt by other means the charge is removed. 6. Note that the figures for the most recent months are provisional, and may be subject to retrospective revisions. 7. Figures are rounded to the nearest five. |
Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when her Department plans to update its web browsers from Internet Explorer 6. [285023]
Jim Knight: The Department is planning to upgrade its web browser from Internet Explorer 6 to a more recent version by the end of 2009. The final timetable for implementation will be decided once the newer browser has been tested and the Department is satisfied that it will support the Department's core systems.
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what guidance the Health and Safety Executive has issued to local authorities in relation to the collection of household waste; and whether it has plans to issue (a) revised and (b) further guidance. [284088]
Jonathan Shaw: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) produces the following guidance documents relating to the collection of household waste, including recyclables.
Good practice guidance documents produced jointly by HSE and the Waste Industry Safety and Health (WISH) Forum (except for Waste 15 which was produced solely by HSE):
Waste 02: Green waste collection: Health issues;
Waste 04: Waste and recycling vehicles in street collections;
Waste 05: The safe use of refuse collection vehicle hoists and bins;
Waste 15: Health Hazards in the waste and recycling industry;
Waste 16: Glass kerbside collection: Noise reduction techniques;
Waste 17: Managing 'task and finish' to reduce safety risks;
Waste 19: Handling needles in the waste and recycling industry;
Waste 21: Health and safety training: guidelines for the waste management and recycling sector;
Waste 22: Handling offensive hygiene waste; and
Waste 23: Safe waste and recycling collection services.
Research reports made available by the HSE as part of a series of reports of work which has been supported by funds provided by the HSE:
RR701: Update to mapping health and safety standards in the UK waste industry;
RR651: Glass recycling; noise exposure from simulated roadside collection of recyclable glass-follow-up measurements;
RR609: Collecting, transfer, treatment and processing household waste and recyclables-a tool to help organisations select the most appropriate system (in terms of health and safety risk);
RR240: Mapping health and safety standards in the UK waste industry; and
RR130: Occupational and environmental exposure to bio-aerosols from composts and potential health effects-a critical review of published data.
Health and Safety Laboratory Reports funded by the HSE:
HSL/2007/21: Glass recycling: noise exposure from simulated roadside collection of recyclable glass;
HSL/2006/25: Manual handling in kerbside collection and sorting of recyclables; and
HSL/2002/21: Manual handling in refuse collection.
Guidance can also be accessed free of charge from the waste management and recycling pages on the HSE website.
HSE has no immediate plans to revise its existing guidance.
HSE is currently preparing new guidance for local authorities on the management of health and safety in waste collection service contracts and delivery. This will apply irrespective of whether the work is carried out by contractors or a local authority direct labour force. The planned publication date is spring 2010.
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how far in advance of expecting to become eligible for employment support allowance an individual may submit an application for it. [283165]
Jim Knight: An advance claim for employment and support allowance can be made if a claimant does not satisfy the conditions of entitlement on the date on which a claim is made but will satisfy them for a future period. The future period must begin on a day which is no more than three months after the date of claim. These provisions do not apply to income related employment and support allowance claimants from abroad (including claimants who are not habitually resident in the UK). If an advance award is made it is subject to the claimant satisfying the conditions for entitlement when the date from which benefit is to be awarded is reached.
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many employment subsidy vouchers have been (a) issued and (b) cashed by employers; [283567]
(2) how many employers have (a) cashed an employment subsidy voucher as part of the six month offer to jobseeker's allowance claimants and (b) used the six month offer employment subsidy in bulk as part of their work with Jobcentre Plus in local employment partnerships; [283568]
(3) how many people have taken up (a) the golden hello including (i) the £1,000 recruitment subsidy and
(ii) £1,500 worth of training, (b) support for self-employment, (c) one of the 40,000 additional volunteering opportunities and (d) one of the 75,000 new training places under the six month offer. [283569]
Jim Knight: The recruitment subsidy and the six month offer were introduced on 6 April 2009. The Department is working to guidelines set by the UK Statistics Authority to ensure we are able to publish statistics that meet high quality standards at the earliest opportunity.
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