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Primary member
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Sanders, Adrian
Type
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Session
Year
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Sanders, Adrian (16)
Answering member
Legislative stage
Legislation
Subject
Publisher
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in respect of how many child maintenance cases her Department has overridden payment schedules agreed in court in each of the last five years.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in respect of how many child maintenance cases her Department has overridden payment schedules agreed in court in each of the last five years.
Asked by
Adrian Sanders
(Liberal Democrat)
Answered by
Helen Goodman
(Labour)
Answering body
Department for Work and Pensions
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Tabled on
23 June 2009
For answer on
25 June 2009
Answered on
16 September 2009
I have consulted with the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission who are now responsible for child maintenance. They have confirmed that the information requested is not available.
Subjects
Children; Maintenance
Date
16 September 2009
Reference
496 c2290W; 282543
House
House of Commons
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is taking to resolve cases of arrears in the payment of child maintenance.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is taking to resolve cases of arrears in the payment of child maintenance.
Asked by
Adrian Sanders
(Liberal Democrat)
Answered by
Helen Goodman
(Labour)
Answering body
Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Tabled on
18 June 2009
For answer on
22 June 2009
Answered on
21 July 2009
The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have therefore asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested.Letter from Stephen Geraghty:"In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner.""You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is taking to resolve cases of arrears in the payment of child maintenance. [281840]""Collection of maintenance, including arrears, remains a priority for the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission. In March 2009 alone, the Commission collected and arranged over £100 million in maintenance, almost £14 million of which was arrears, and collected a total of £158 million in child maintenance arrears in the year to the end of March 2009.""The current amount of arrears owed by non-resident parents is the cumulative total of sixteen years of maintenance owed. In order to address these cases, the Commission is continually improving enforcement. In the twelve months to January 2009, the Commission completed 120,970 enforcement actions, including almost 70,000 deduction from earnings orders.""The Commission can already apply to the court for a non-resident parent who wilfully refuses to pay child maintenance to be disqualified from driving or committed to prison. Powers yet to be commenced under the 2008 Act include asking the court to impose a curfew or to disqualify the non-resident parent from holding or obtaining a passport.""The measures proposed in this year's Welfare Reform Bill include the Commission having the ability to remove passports and driving licences administratively, without needing to go through the courts. It is such measures which we will continue to use to take action against those parents who owe arrears to their children.""I hope you find this answer helpful."
Subjects
Children; Maintenance
Date
21 July 2009
Reference
496 c1269W; 281840
House
House of Commons
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether her Department has (a) commissioned and (b) reviewed recent research on the effectiveness of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission and its predecessor agency in recovering child maintenance payments from non-resident parents.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether her Department has (a) commissioned and (b) reviewed recent research on the effectiveness of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission and its predecessor agency in recovering child maintenance payments from non-resident parents.
Asked by
Adrian Sanders
(Liberal Democrat)
Answered by
Helen Goodman
(Labour)
Answering body
Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Tabled on
18 June 2009
For answer on
22 June 2009
Answered on
21 July 2009
The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have therefore asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested.Letter from Stephen Geraghty:"In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner.""You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has (a) commissioned and (b) reviewed recent research on the effect of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission and its predecessor agency on the recovery of child maintenance payments from non-resident parents. [281843]""The Commission publishes a quarterly Summary of Statistics which contains a full range of statistical information assessing the impact of the Child Support Agency on the recovery of child maintenance. The latest copy is available in the House of Commons library or online at:""www.childmaintenance.org/publications/statistics.html""In addition, in 2007 the Child Support Agency commissioned research to better understand the client experience, and the issues and service that clients believe need to be improved. This research was published in February 2008 as the DWP Research Report: No 471 CSA Client Insight Research 2007. The Agency also commissioned two reports on the use of deduction from earnings orders in the collection of child maintenance; DWP Research Reports 520 and 530.""The Department for Work and Pensions commissioned the Relationship and Separation survey in 2008, DWP Research Report 503, to inform the changes to the system of child maintenance which led to the introduction of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission. This report focuses on the number and form of child maintenance arrangements in place, demographic information about the child maintenance population, past and future use of information and support, views on the changes to the child support system and likely behaviour as a result of these.""There have also been extensive reports conducted by DWP in the past on compliance levels, the effects of maintenance direct and international perspectives on child support.""Full details of all the Departments research reports are published online at the following link:""www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/rrs-index.asp.""The Commission has begun its own programme of research, measurement and evaluation to provide robust measures of the impact of such services provided by the Commission, on our clients, as well as to understand more about the attitudes, behaviours, service needs and expectations of its current and potential future clients.""We will continue to work on increasing our understanding and knowledge of external research, and programmes are in place internally to provide an ongoing appraisal of the research landscape.""I hope you find this answer helpful."
Subjects
Children; Maintenance
Date
21 July 2009
Reference
496 c1269-70W; 281843
House
House of Commons
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what procedures there are for non-resident parents to appeal against liability orders for child maintenance.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what procedures there are for non-resident parents to appeal against liability orders for child maintenance.
Asked by
Adrian Sanders
(Liberal Democrat)
Answered by
Helen Goodman
(Labour)
Answering body
Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Tabled on
18 June 2009
For answer on
22 June 2009
Answered on
21 July 2009
The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to the hon. Member, with the information requested and I have seen the response.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 Child Maintenance Commissioner. The Child Support Agency is now the responsibility of the Child Maintenance Enforcement Commission.""You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what procedures there are for non-resident parents to appeal against liability orders for child maintenance. [281764]""Liability Orders are currently made in the Magistrates' Court (or Sheriff Court in Scotland). The non-resident parent may appeal such an order to the Administrative Court of Appeal, or Court of Session in Scotland, on the grounds that the decision was wrong in law or the court did not have the jurisdiction to make the decision.""I hope you find this answer helpful."
Subjects
Children; Appeals; Maintenance; Liability orders
Date
21 July 2009
Reference
496 c1268-9W; 281764
House
House of Commons
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what mechanism is in place for the recovery of child maintenance payments from British national absent parents who are resident overseas.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what mechanism is in place for the recovery of child maintenance payments from British national absent parents who are resident overseas.
Asked by
Adrian Sanders
(Liberal Democrat)
Answered by
Helen Goodman
(Labour)
Answering body
Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Tabled on
18 June 2009
For answer on
22 June 2009
Answered on
20 July 2009
The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have therefore asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested.Letter from Stephen Geraghty:"In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner. The Child Support Agency is now the responsibility of the Child Maintenance Enforcement Commission.""You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what mechanism is in place for the recovery of child maintenance payments from British national absent parents who are resident overseas. [281844]""The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission retains the power to pursue a non-resident parent who moves overseas, but only where the non-resident is regarded as being habitually resident in the UK. The criteria for establishing jurisdiction when a non-resident parent leaves the United Kingdom is described at Section 44 of the Child Support Act. There is no distinction made between an EU state and a non-EU state.""There are certain cases where the nature of employment will bring the non-resident parent under the jurisdiction of the Commission, for example those employed in the Civil Service or a member of the naval, military or air forces. The Commission may also have jurisdiction where a non-resident parent is employed by a company that is prescribed in Child Support (Maintenance Arrangement and Jurisdiction Regulations) 1992, Regulation 7A(2).""The Ministry of Justice, however operates a system for administering international child and spousal maintenance cases where the non-resident parent can not be treated as habitually resident in the UK; this is known as the Reciprocal Enforcement of Maintenance Orders (REMO).""Where a parent with care applies to their local magistrates' court or family proceedings court, details of the maintenance liability can be referred to the foreign jurisdiction - where the non-resident parent now resides - whom will be able to apply their domestic collection and enforcement mechanisms in order to recover the amount due. They will then refer this money back to the UK REMO administrators.""The UK has reciprocal maintenance agreements with over 100 states and territories.""I hope you find this answer helpful."
Subjects
Children; Maintenance
Date
20 July 2009
Reference
496 c829-30W; 281844
House
House of Commons
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if she will estimate the number of non-resident parents paying child maintenance who are in receipt of tax credits.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if she will estimate the number of non-resident parents paying child maintenance who are in receipt of tax credits.
Asked by
Adrian Sanders
(Liberal Democrat)
Answered by
Helen Goodman
(Labour)
Answering body
Department for Work and Pensions
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Tabled on
18 June 2009
For answer on
22 June 2009
Answered on
15 July 2009
I have consulted with the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission who have confirmed that the information requested is not available.
Subjects
Children; Maintenance
Date
15 July 2009
Reference
496 c423W; 281765
House
House of Commons
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what account the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission takes of shared custody arrangements in determining levels of child maintenance.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what account the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission takes of shared custody arrangements in determining levels of child maintenance.
Asked by
Adrian Sanders
(Liberal Democrat)
Answered by
Helen Goodman
(Labour)
Answering body
Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Tabled on
18 June 2009
For answer on
22 June 2009
Answered on
14 July 2009
The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have therefore asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested.Letter from Stephen Geraghty:"In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner. The Child Support Agency is now the responsibility of the Child Maintenance Enforcement Commission.""You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what account the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission takes of shared custody arrangements in determining levels of child maintenance. [281842]""Where an application for child maintenance is made, and care of the child or children subject to that application is shared between the parent with care and non-resident parent, the Child Support Agency may in some cases reduce the amount of child maintenance payable as a result.""Different rules apply to the calculation of child maintenance liabilities, dependant on whether the application for maintenance was effective before the 3rd of March 2003 (such cases are referred to as the "old scheme") or received on or after this date (and referred to as the "current scheme").""In the old scheme, the amount of maintenance that a non-resident parent should pay will be reduced if the child or children spends 104 nights or more (on average, throughout the year) in their care. In the current scheme, a non-resident parent's maintenance liability is reduced if the child or children spends an average of 52 nights or more in their care during the year.""I hope you find this answer helpful."
Subjects
Children; Maintenance
Date
14 July 2009
Reference
496 c282W; 281842
House
House of Commons
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what account the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission takes of the circumstances of (a) resident parents and their families and (b) non-resident parents and their families in determining child maintenance.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what account the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission takes of the circumstances of (a) resident parents and their families and (b) non-resident parents and their families in determining child maintenance.
Asked by
Adrian Sanders
(Liberal Democrat)
Answered by
Helen Goodman
(Labour)
Answering body
Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Tabled on
18 June 2009
For answer on
22 June 2009
Answered on
13 July 2009
The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have therefore asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested.Letter from Stephen Geraghty:"In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner.""You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what account the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission takes of the circumstances of (a) resident parents and their families and (b) non-resident parents and their families in determining child maintenance. [281841]""Different rules apply to the calculation of child maintenance liabilities, dependant on whether the application for maintenance was effective before the 3rd of March 2003 (such cases are referred to as the "old scheme") or received on or after this date (and referred to as the "current scheme").""In the old scheme, the income of both the parent with care and the non-resident parent is taken into account where the Child Support Agency calculates the amount of child maintenance that the non-resident parent should pay. The personal circumstances of both parents are recognised in the assessment process insofar that the Agency must take into account the amount each parent pays in housing costs, for example, and also in the inclusion of certain allowances where parents have to support dependant children.""The process for the current scheme is more straightforward. The amount of maintenance that should be paid is based solely on the net weekly income of the non-resident parent, and the circumstances of the parent with care are not taken into account. However, if there are any children residing in the non-resident ""parent's household then the net weekly income on which the maintenance assessment is based will be reduced by a set percentage, prior to a maintenance calculation being completed. A further reduction may also apply if the non-resident parent is on a low income.""I hope you find this answer helpful."
Subjects
Children; Maintenance
Date
13 July 2009
Reference
496 c57-8W; 281841
House
House of Commons
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many formal complaints were received by the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission and its predecessor in each of the last five years; and how many such complaints were upheld.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many formal complaints were received by the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission and its predecessor in each of the last five years; and how many such complaints were upheld.
Asked by
Adrian Sanders
(Liberal Democrat)
Answered by
Helen Goodman
(Labour)
Answering body
Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Tabled on
18 June 2009
For answer on
22 June 2009
Answered on
13 July 2009
The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have therefore asked the child maintenance commissioner to 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 Child Maintenance Commissioner as the Child Support Agency is now the responsibility of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission.""You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many formal complaints were received by the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission and its predecessor agencies in each of the last five years; and how many such complaints were upheld. [281845]""The number of complaints received is shown in the attached table. The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission took responsibility for the Child Support Agency on the 1st November 2008. Therefore, for 2008/2009, complaints received prior to 1st November will be directed to the Child Support Agency and complaints received post 1st November will be directed to the Commission.""It is not possible to provide information on the number of complaints that were upheld, as this information is not captured within the management information.""I hope you find this answer helpful."
| Complaints per financial year | |
|---|---|
| Financial year | Complaints |
| 2004-05 | 63,800 |
| 2005-06 | 62,100 |
| 2006-07 | 47,900 |
| 2007-08 | 37,600 |
| 2008-09 | 27,800 |
| Notes: | |
| 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 100. | |
| 2. Figures for 2008-09 include complaints received by the Child Support Agency prior to 1 November 2008, and the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission from the 1 November 2008. | |
| 3. These figures are published in the Child Support Agency's Annual Report and Accounts. | |
| 4. From April 2007, the Agency introduced a new complaints resolution process, which among others simplified the process from three stages to two stages. |
Subjects
Children; Maintenance
Date
13 July 2009
Reference
496 c58W; 281845
House
House of Commons
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many applications in respect of child maintenance the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission and its predecessor has made to the courts in each of the last five years.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many applications in respect of child maintenance the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission and its predecessor has made to the courts in each of the last five years.
Asked by
Adrian Sanders
(Liberal Democrat)
Answered by
Helen Goodman
(Labour)
Answering body
Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Tabled on
18 June 2009
For answer on
22 June 2009
Answered on
13 July 2009
The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have therefore asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to 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 Child Maintenance Commissioner as the Child Support Agency is now the responsibility of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission.""You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many applications in respect of child maintenance the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission and its predecessor has made to the courts in each of the last five years. [281847]""The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission are currently required to apply to the courts for a liability order to obtain legal recognition of the child maintenance arrears owed. Once a liability order has been granted the Commission can then refer the case for bailiff action, or prepare a further application to the court to secure; County Court Judgments, Third Party Debt ""Orders and Charging Orders. In addition, where there is a wilful refusal to pay child maintenance the Commission can apply to the court to consider the suspension of a driving licence or committal to prison.""The total number of enforcement processes undertaken, including those applications listed above which were granted are regularly published in Table 21 of the March 2009 Child Support Agency Quarterly Summary of Statistics (QSS). The latest copy of which is available online at:""www.childmaintenance.org/publications/statistics.html and in the House of Commons Library.""In addition to the information provided in Table 21, an extract of which is attached below, the number of committal applications for 2008-09 was 2,940. Information is not available on the number of committal applications prior to 2008-09.""I hope you find this answer helpful."
| Child Support Agency—Total enforcement applications granted | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 2004- March 2005 | April 2005- March 2006 | April 2006- March 2007 | April 2007- March 2008 | February 2007-January 2008 | February 2008-January 2009 | |
| Total applications granted | 11,665 | 17,640 | 20,725 | 24,240 | 23,960 | 32,980 |
| Liability orders granted | 7,760 | 11,245 | 13,510 | 17,755 | 17,235 | 25,090 |
| County Court Judgement orders | 1,315 | 2,330 | 1,920 | 1,390 | 1,620 | 630 |
| 3rd Party Debt orders | 1,235 | 1,710 | 2,090 | 1,790 | 1,855 | 2,435 |
| Charging orders | 845 | 1,335 | 1,850 | 1,735 | 1,780 | 2,490 |
| Suspended committal sentences | 225 | 390 | 420 | 480 | 525 | 510 |
| Committal Sentences | 5 | 15 | 40 | 25 | 35 | 30 |
| Suspended driving licence disqualification sentences | 25 | 35 | 30 | 15 | 20 | 30 |
| Driving licence disqualification sentences | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Notes: | ||||||
| The information contained in the table relates to applications granted—not applications made. Information on applications made is not available. | ||||||
| 2. A liability order is a document obtained from the court showing that they legally recognise that the debt is owing. This is the same in both England and Wales and Scotland. This is required before the Agency can use litigation powers (Diligence in Scotland). | ||||||
| 3. County Court Judgement orders apply only to England and Wales. Registers the person with a County Court Judgement Order, which remains on their credit record for six years. | ||||||
| 4. Third Party Debt orders in England and Wales instruct a third party to pay any funds owed to, or held on behalf of, the non-resident parent to the Agency instead. In practice this is typically used for banks and building societies. | ||||||
| 5. Charging orders in England and Wales are where a County Court Order for the legally recognised debt is attached to the equity in the non-resident parent's property. They are then unable to re-mortgage or sell the property without satisfying the debt. If they satisfy the debt by other means the charge is removed. | ||||||
| 6. Note that the figures for the most recent months are provisional, and may be subject to retrospective revisions. | ||||||
| 7. Figures are rounded to the nearest five. |
Subjects
Children; Maintenance
Date
13 July 2009
Reference
496 c58-60W; 281847
House
House of Commons
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the national targets are for the Child Support Agency; and what the performance of relevant offices in Devon and Cornwall has been against those targets.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the national targets are for the Child Support Agency; and what the performance of relevant offices in Devon and Cornwall has been against those targets.
Asked by
Adrian Sanders
(Liberal Democrat)
Answered by
James Plaskitt
(Labour)
Answering body
Department for Work and Pensions
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Tabled on
29 November 2005
For answer on
1 December 2005
Answered on
5 December 2005
I would refer the hon. Member to the Child Support Agency's 2005 Business Plan which is held in the House of Commons Library and details the Agency targets.I am sorry to say that information requested on performance against targets is not available at constituency level.
Subjects
Children; Maintenance; Standards
Date
5 December 2005
Reference
34033; 440 c1048W;440 c1048W
House
House of Commons
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, how much maintenance money is currently outstanding after assessment by the Child Support Agency in (a) Devon and (b) the United Kingdom; and how many children this relates to in (a) and (b). - Text of letter from Faith Boardman of...
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, how much maintenance money is currently outstanding after assessment by the Child Support Agency in (a) Devon and (b) the United Kingdom; and how many children this relates to in (a) and (b). - Text of letter from Faith Boardman of...
Asked by
Adrian Sanders
(Liberal Democrat)
Answered by
Lord Bradley
(Labour)
Answering body
Child Support Agency
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Tabled on
13 January 1998
For answer on
30 January 1998
Answered on
30 January 1998
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how much maintenance money is currently outstanding after assessment
by the Child Support Agency in (a) Devon and (b) the United Kingdom; and how many children this relates to in (a) and (b). [23323]
Mr. Keith Bradley: We are looking for substantial and sustained operational improvements from the Agency, in particular in getting
more maintenance paid, reducing the backlogs and improving customer service.
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 Faith Boardman to Mr. Adrian Sanders, dated 29 January 1998:
I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the amount of maintenance currently
outstanding in Devon and the United Kingdom; and how many children this relates to.
It is not possible to provide the full information you requested, however I can provide details on maintenance outstanding at Agency
level (excluding Northern Ireland, which is handled separately by the Northern Ireland Child Support Agency), and at Business Unit
level. Information on maintenance outstanding is taken from the Agency's Financial Management System but is not available at county
level. The Agency is organised into 6 Business Units; Devon is dealt with by our South West Business Unit, for which figures are
quoted in the table.
Numbers are given for related children in the Devon area, and also in the South West Business Unit (provided by the Department of
Social Security Analylitical Services Division).
Maintenance outstanding and the number of related children in Great Britain and the South Western Business Unit at 31 December 1997
_________________________________________________________________________________________________.
Category A interim maintenance Full maintenance assessments Number of related children
assessments (£) and other interim maintenance
assessments (£)
South West Business Unit 104,697,780 {1}113,058,066 187,160 (of which 22,340 live
in the Devon area)
Great Britain 690,002,757 {2}635,522,889 1,002,180
_________________________________________________________________________________________________.
{1} £53,161,236 of this relates to amounts which have been rescheduled for payment over an agreed future period.
{2} £301,638,298 of this relates to amounts which have been rescheduled for payment over an agreed future period.
A Category A interim maintenance assessment sets maintenance at a punitive rate for absent parents who fail to co-operate, is
imposed until the Agency is provided with the information needed to complete a full maintenance assessment. The Agency issued many
interim maintenance assessments in its first two years--73,303 in 93/94. The emphasis now is to encourage absent parents to
co-operate early and therefore avoid building up excessive maintenance arrears; the number of interim maintenance assessments has
now greatly reduced to 11,718 in 1996/97.
In 1997 the Agency undertook a debt analysis exercise and established that 44.9% of final maintenance assessments were collectable,
15.9% were possibly uncollectable, 38% probably uncollectable and 1.2% has been deferred.
I hope this is helpful.
Subjects
Children; Administrative delays; Child Support Agency; Devon; Maintenance
Date
30 January 1998
Reference
305 c417-8W; 23323
House
House of Commons
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, what is the average length of time between assessment by the Child Support Agency and first payment. - Text of letter from Faith Boardman of the Child Support Agency.
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, what is the average length of time between assessment by the Child Support Agency and first payment. - Text of letter from Faith Boardman of the Child Support Agency.
Asked by
Adrian Sanders
(Liberal Democrat)
Answered by
Lord Bradley
(Labour)
Answering body
Child Support Agency
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Tabled on
13 January 1998
For answer on
30 January 1998
Answered on
30 January 1998
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the average length of time between assessment by the Child
Support Agency and first payment. [23505]
Mr. Keith Bradley: We expect the Child Support Agency to provide an efficient and effective service to all its clients.
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 Faith Boardman to Mr. Adrian Sanders, dated 29 January 1998:
I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the average length of time between
assessment by the Child Support Agency and first payment.
It is not possible to provide details on the average length of time between assessment and first payment. The date on which a first
payment is due is dependent on several factors, including the chosen method of payment, the payment preferences of the absent parent
and the parent with care, and the absent parent's pay frequency. There is no prescribed date applicable to all cases by which a
first payment must be made.
It is therefore difficult to estimate an average length of time between assessment and the date on which the first payment should
be made.
Statistics are not collated on the time between the assessment and the first payment as these details would not prove very
informative due to the several factors that have an influence on when a first payment is due and in turn actually made.
The Agency is very aware of the need to assess maintenance and ensure payments are passed on to the parent with care as quickly as
possible, and in 1997/98 has two Secretary of State targets designed to achieve this. The first target contains an element which
requires the Agency to clear 60% of all applications within 26 weeks; to 31st December 1997, the year's performance stood at 73%.
The second target requires the Agency to pass on 97% of payments to the parent with care within ten days of receipt from the absent
parent; year-to-date performance at 31st December was 98%.
We are constantly looking at how we can adapt and improve our procedures to speed up the time taken. The timescales achieved for
many cases have shortened over the last 2 years. Such an example is that the Agency is building more pro-active use of the telephone
into its procedures between assessment and first payment to ensure that timescales are shortened wherever possible. The vast
majority of payment advice is now conducted by telephone.
I hope this is helpful.
Subjects
Children; Administrative delays; Child Support Agency; Maintenance
Date
30 January 1998
Reference
23505; 305 c418W;305 c418-9W
House
House of Commons
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, how many people in Devon are being pursued by the Child Support Agency; and what is the figure per 1000 residents in the United Kingdom. - Includes text of letter from Mrs Faith Boardman of Child Support Agency and figures.
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, how many people in Devon are being pursued by the Child Support Agency; and what is the figure per 1000 residents in the United Kingdom. - Includes text of letter from Mrs Faith Boardman of Child Support Agency and figures.
Asked by
Adrian Sanders
(Liberal Democrat)
Answered by
Lord Bradley
(Labour)
Answering body
Child Support Agency
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Tabled on
13 January 1998
For answer on
30 January 1998
Answered on
30 January 1998
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people in Devon are being pursued by the Child Support
Agency; and what is the figure per 1,000 residents in the United Kingdom. [23324]
Mr. Keith Bradley: Children are entitled to the financial and emotional support of both parents wherever they live. It is not right
that so many absent parents should seek to avoid paying the maintenance they owe.
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 Faith Boardman to Mr. Adrian Sanders, dated 29 January 1998:
I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the caseload of the Child Support
Agency.
The caseload comprises two broad categories, i.e. the live and assessed cases, where an assessment has been made, and the
work-on-hand, where the case has not yet been cleared by assessment or by closure for other reasons.
The Agency is organised into 6 Business Units; figures are available at Business Unit level but not at county level. Devon is dealt
with by our South West Business Unit, for which figures are given below.
At 31st December 1997, the South West Business Unit has 120,300 live and assessed cases. At the same time, that Business Unit's
work-on-hand stood at 48,297; 18,305 of which are backlog cases.
Any maintenance application which is over 52 weeks old is considered to form part of the Agency's backlog.
The Agency has developed and is now implementing a strategy for meeting its undertaking to clear its backlogs. All Business Units
have put in place operational plans which will guide them towards the achievement of our stated objective of clearing backlogs by 31
March 1999.
The total caseload for the South West Business Unit of 168,597 equates to around 3 cases per 1,000 people, based on a GB population
of around 57.2 million.
I hope this is helpful.
Subjects
Children; Child Support Agency; Devon; Maintenance
Date
30 January 1998
Reference
23324; 305 c419W
House
House of Commons
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, if travel to work costs are taken into consideration by the CSA in making assessments of payments by an absent parent.
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, if travel to work costs are taken into consideration by the CSA in making assessments of payments by an absent parent.
Asked by
Adrian Sanders
(Liberal Democrat)
Answered by
Lord Bradley
(Labour)
Answering body
Department of Social Security
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Tabled on
28 October 1997
For answer on
4 November 1997
Answered on
4 November 1997
Subjects
Children; Maintenance
Date
4 November 1997
Reference
13734; 300 c189W
House
House of Commons
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, what are the guidelines for the minimum levels of income which absent parents should expect to live on following calculations by the CSA.
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, what are the guidelines for the minimum levels of income which absent parents should expect to live on following calculations by the CSA.
Asked by
Adrian Sanders
(Liberal Democrat)
Answered by
Lord Bradley
(Labour)
Answering body
Department of Social Security
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Tabled on
28 October 1997
For answer on
4 November 1997
Answered on
4 November 1997
Subjects
Absent parents; Maintenance; Personal income
Date
4 November 1997
Reference
13735; 300 c188W
House
House of Commons