The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 24 July 2007:
In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reasons the Child Support Agency ceased its policy of charging a fee for use of its services in 1995; and if he will make a statement.
The Child Support Agency ceased to charge fees for its services in 1995. The Child Support Fees Regulations 1992 (S.I. 1992/3094) which covered the amount and circumstances in which fees could be charged were subsequently revoked in 1996.
As the 1998 Green Paper ‘Children First’ explained, the decision to firstly cease applying these regulations and to later revoke them was based on concerns about the unacceptable levels of service the Agency was providing. The regulation making power within the Act was retained to allow for the reintroduction of fees once the Agency could provide a level of service that would warrant it.
I hope you find this answer helpful.