The administration of the Child Support Agency is the matter for the chief executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
Letter from Stephen Geraghty:
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, in how many cases of child support administration the computer system has been incapable of producing a result and the case transferred to manual management in each of the last three years. [222024]
The information requested is routinely published in Table 20 of the Child Support Agency’s Quarterly Summary Statistics and further information on clerical cases is set out in the accompanying notes to the table. The latest copy is available in the House of Commons Library or via the internet at: www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/csa.asp.
I hope you find this answer helpful.
The administration of the Child Support Agency is the matter for the chief executive. He will write to my hon. Friend with the information requested.
Letter from Stephen Geraghty:
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, what assessment has been made of the financial impact on parents without care facing debt recovery action for outstanding child maintenance payments by the Child Support Agency of the sanction (a) 40 per cent. deductions on net income and (b) use of debt recovery agents. [223863]
The financial impact of recovering child maintenance debt is considered for all parties involved in a child maintenance calculation before determining a suitable repayment level. The circumstances of each individual case are considered including any representations of hardship from the non-resident parent as well as the size of the debt and any other relevant factors. Should the financial circumstances of the non-resident parent prevent immediate full repayment of the child maintenance debt then the Agency will attempt to negotiate the repayment of the child maintenance debt as quickly as possible to obtain the best possible outcome for the qualifying child and the parent with care while taking account of the circumstances of the non-resident parent.
As a guideline the Agency’s view is that a complete recovery period of up to two years is broadly acceptable if all the circumstances of the case genuinely warrant such a lengthy period; as an organisation with a statutory duty to consider the welfare of any children affected by our decisions, the Agency can only justify accepting repayment agreements of more than two years in special circumstances. In a proportion of cases, this means that a repayment agreement of up to forty per cent of net earnings, which includes any regular maintenance liability and repayment of arrears, will be appropriate.
Where negotiations fail to produce an acceptable repayment offer the Agency will consider recovery through the enforcement measures available. In many cases a Deduction from Earnings Order will be imposed which requires an employer to deduct child maintenance payments at source. These deductions will not exceed forty per cent of net earnings. In cases where this is not appropriate, the Agency can apply to the courts for a liability order confirming the debt, and allowing it to pursue other legal enforcement action.
The Agency also has the power to contract debt collection agencies to recover outstanding debt on its behalf as this is an area where the expertise of private agencies can be particularly effective in helping to get more money to more children. The provisions authorising another person/organisation to carry out functions relating to child support came into force on 3 July 2006. Certain cases with outstanding debt were reviewed and where the non-resident parent failed to make an acceptable repayment offer referral was made to a debt collection agency. The process for considering the financial impact of recovering debt mirrors that used within the Child Support Agency and outlined above. There are mechanisms in place to ensure that cases are correctly handled.
I hope you find this answer helpful.
The administration of the Child Support Agency is the matter for the chief executive. He will write to my hon. Friend with the information requested.
Letter from Stephen Geraghty:
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, how many Child Support Agency new scheme cases have been uncleared within six months in (a) Jarrow constituency (b) South Tyneside (c) the North East and (d) the UK in each year since 1997. [223906]
The information you have requested is provided in the attached table which highlights the significant improvements the Agency has made to client service under its three year Operational Improvement Plan.
In addition to the overall reduction in uncleared cases, the Agency now clears 81% of all new applications within 12 weeks, already meeting the March 2009 Secretary of State target to clear 80% of cases in 12 weeks.
I hope you find this answer helpful.
Uncleared applications over six months old Month Great Britain North East South Tyneside Jarrow June 2003 2,800 100 — — June 2004 79,500 3,900 300 100 June 2005 142,100 7,600 600 300 June 2006 135,000 7,600 500 200 June 2007 88,900 6,100 400 200 June 2008 62,700 4,800 300 100 ‘—’ Indicates a figure less than 50. Notes: 1. Figures include all uncleared applications over six months old. 2. As the current scheme came into existence in 2003, figures only go back to this date. 3. Cases have been allocated to the North East region, Jarrow Parliamentary Constituency and South Tyneside Local Authority by matching the postcode of the parent with care against the Office for National Statistics postcode directory. 4. Many uncleared applications will not have reached the point where the address details of the non-resident parent or parent with care have been recorded on the CS2 or CSCS computer systems and so can not be allocated to a geographical area. Such applications have been included under the Great Britain figure but are excluded from the regional breakdowns. Approximately 5,600 applications (9 per cent. of all uncleared applications) over six months old fall into this category. 5. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 100.
I would refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 10 September 2008, Official Report, column 1945W.
The information requested is not available.
The administration of the Child Support Agency is the matter for the chief executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
Letter from Stephen Geraghty:
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, how many new scheme cases were cleared by the Child Support Agency within six months in (a) Jarrow constituency (b) South Tyneside (c) the North East and (d) the UK in each year since 1997. [223988]
At present, the Agency operates two schemes, the original scheme applying to cases received by the Agency from 1993, and assessed under the Child Support Act 1991, and the current scheme, sometimes known as the new scheme, applying to cases received by the Agency from 2003 and assessed under the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act 2000.
The information provided in the attached table relates to current scheme cases from 2003 only.
I hope you find this answer helpful.
Clearances under six months old Month Great Britain North East South Tyneside Jarrow 2003-04 113,100 4,200 300 200 2004-05 137,200 4,400 300 200 2005-06 190,900 5,900 400 200 2006-07 219,000 6,100 400 200 2007-08 260,000 9,100 600 300 Notes: 1. Figures include all current scheme application clearances under six months old. 2. As the current scheme came into existence in 2003, figures only go back to this date. 3. Cases have been allocated to the North East region, Jarrow parliamentary constituency and South Tyneside local authority by matching the postcode of the parent with care against the Office for National Statistics postcode directory. 4. Applications may be classed as cleared when the application is rejected or withdrawn. These applications can be rejected or withdrawn without the full address details of the non-resident parent or parent with care being recorded on the CS2 or CSCS computer systems and so can not be allocated to a geographical area. Such clearances are included in the Great Britain total but excluded from the regional breakdowns. Over 35 per cent. of clearances of applications under six months old fall into this category. 5. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 100. 6. '-' indicates a figure less than 50.
The administration of the Child Support Agency is the matter for the chief executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
Letter from Stephen Geraghty:
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, what guidance is issued by the Child Support Agency on absent fathers who pay larger than average contributions into their pension scheme thereby reducing the sum payable in child maintenance; and if he will amend this guidance to combat this practice. [224163]
There is currently no limit to the amount of contributions a non-resident parent can make to an occupational pension within the child maintenance system.
A parent with care can however request a “variation” to the amount of the child maintenance liability if he or she believes that there are exceptional circumstances that are not covered by the basic rules. In particular a parent with care can apply for a variation where a non-resident parent has unreasonably reduced the amount of their income by diverting it elsewhere, which can be taken into account when making a maintenance calculation.
I hope you find this answer helpful.