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Written question asked by Lord Grayling (Conservative) on Tuesday, 7 October 2008, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 9 October 2008. It was answered by Baroness Ussher (Labour) on Wednesday, 26 November 2008 on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.

Child Support Agency: Debt Collection

Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will break down by (a) parliamentary constituency and (b) local authority the debt owed to the Child Support Agency in each of the last five years.
Answer

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 and arrange for a copy of the table to be placed in the Library.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, if he will break down by (a) parliamentary constituency and (b) local authority the debt owed to the Child Support Agency in each of the last five years. [226161]""Such information as is available is included in the tables which have been placed in the Library, which show the total debt owed by non-resident parents by Parliamentary Constituency and Local Authority for cases held on the CS2 computer system. This information is not available for cases held on the CS2 computer system prior to 2007 and is not available for any of the cases held on the CSCS computer system.""Child maintenance debt is owed by non-resident parents as a result of their failure to meet their financial responsibilities to their children. Some non-resident parents do their utmost to avoid these responsibilities, for example by moving house or changing jobs whenever the Child Support Agency tries to collect maintenance. Over its 15 year life, the Agency has collected and arranged over £7.5 billion in child maintenance with over £1 bn collected in the last year alone.""The Agency has been successful in slowing significantly the rate at which debt accrues. In the twelve months to March 2008, debt grew by an average of £10 million per month half the rate of accrual for the year to March 2006.""The Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act strengthens the range of enforcement and debt management powers available to the new Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission. These will enable the Commission to recoup more effectively outstanding debt.""I hope you find this answer helpful."

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
483 c1956-7W; 226161
Session
2007-08
Related items
Deposited Paper DEP2008-2889
Monday, 24 November 2008
Deposited papers
House of Commons
Subjects
Children Maintenance
Link
View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk