My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (James Plaskitt) has made the following Statement.

The Child Maintenance and Other Payments Bill currently before Parliament provides for a non-departmental public body, the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission, to administer the statutory scheme of child maintenance in place of the Child Support Agency.

In order to avoid delay in the establishment of the commission, expenditure is required in advance of the Bill receiving Royal Assent. The cost of this work is estimated at £2,400,000; this will be met through repayable cash advances from the contingencies fund pending parliamentary approval of the Bill and of subsequent supply estimates.

This will cover: the recruitment of key members of staff including executive board members; changes to IT systems so that customer communications are correct following the commission’s launch; and further development of the financial and human resources system necessary for the commission to take on its functions.