To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security in what proportion of cases being dealt with by the CSA, the parent with care of the child is not receiving benefit, described under section 6 of the Child Support Act 1991 (a) in total, (b) by region and (c) by county. [4381]
We believe that all children are entitled to the support of both parents wherever they may live. Children should be supported by the taxpayer only when their parents are unable to do so. The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mrs. Faith Boardman. She will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Mrs. Faith Boardman to Ms Sally Keeble, dated 25 June 1997:
I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the proportion of CSA cases where the parent/person with care is not in receipt of benefit as described under section 6 of the Child Support Act 1991.
At 28 February 1997, of the 579,180 live and assessed cases recorded on the Child Support Computer System, 11% of parents/persons with care were not in receipt of income support or other prescribed benefits. The table attached shows a breakdown by region, a breakdown by county is not available.
I hope this is helpful.
Parent/Person with care not in receipt of Income Support or other prescribed benefits
| |||
Live and assessed caseload—28 February 1997
| |||
Number of cases
| Not in receipt of IS/FamC/DWA
| ||
Number
| Per cent.
| ||
| Great Britain | 579,180 | 65,000 | 11 |
| North | 40,660 | 4,180 | 10 |
| Scotland | 45,620 | 4,080 | 9 |
| Yorkshire and Humberside | 54,200 | 4,700 | 9 |
| North West | 74,280 | 9,180 | 12 |
| East Midlands | 35,680 | 3,840 | 11 |
| West Midlands | 52,320 | 5,320 | 10 |
| East Anglia | 18,540 | 1,900 | 10 |
| Wales | 37,200 | 5,180 | 14 |
| South East | 135,060 | 16,700 | 12 |
| South West | 47,720 | 6,480 | 14 |
Regional totals do not sum to the Great Britain total as some postcode data are sufficient to allow a regional breakdown. We do not record the above statistics at levels lower than by region.