asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many cases of failure to pay maintenance have been brought before the courts since August, 1971; how many orders for attachment of earnings to secure maintenace payments have been made since that date; and how many of these have not been complied with;(2) in cases where attachment of earnings orders have been made to secure maintenance payments, how many notifications of change of employment and earnings have been made to the courts since August, 1971, and in how many cases a fine has been paid for failure to notify such changes.

Figures showing, for magistrates' courts, the number of maintenance orders applied for and granted and the number of attachment orders made are published annually in the Civil Judicial Statistics; those for the last quarter of 1971 will become available early next summer. Statistics of the number of orders not complied with and of the action taken in consequence of such default are not available.