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<p>The Department’s policy is to recover outstanding debt whenever possible. Where
a person is not in receipt of benefit and all the Department’s attempts at recovery
have been unsuccessful, the overpayment will be referred to a debt collection agency.
The debtor is always given an opportunity to make an agreement to pay the Department
before the debt is sent to a debt collection agency to recover.</p><p> </p><p>With
the exception of one service provider currently being used by the Child Maintenance
Group, the Department does not hold extant, direct contracts with any debt collection
agencies although the nature of some of the expired contracts means that a number
of collections are still being made. DWP now makes use of one main contract with Indesser.
The Framework Contract is managed by Cabinet Office. Indesser manage relationships
with a number of Debt Collection Agencies on behalf of all Government Customers.</p><p>
</p><p>Under the terms of the Framework Agreement, Indesser and its sub-contractors
must comply with relevant industry and public sector standards for service delivery
including those of the Credit Services Association, the Code of Practice and the Financial
Conduct Authority guidelines. The standards are listed in the DMI Framework Agreement.
Indesser reviews subcontractor compliance with these standards through audit and assurance
activity, including responsibility for ensuring that they comply with relevant industry
standards, managing their performance, and monitoring any complaints. Customer departments
(i.e. DWP) in turn receive Letters of Assurance which they review to ensure standards
are being achieved and the audits are effective.</p><p> </p><p>The breakdown of figures
you have requested is derived from operational processes and systems designed solely
for the purpose of helping the Department to manage its business. As it was not originally
intended for publication, it has not been subjected to the rigorous quality assurance
checks applied to our published official statistics.</p><p> </p><p>The debt collection
agency costs of the Child Maintenance Group and DWP are given separately. Please note
that the figures are rounded to the nearest £10,000.</p><p> </p><p>The cost to the
DWP of the debt collection agencies, and the related recovery made by them, is as
follows:</p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Financial Year</p></td><td><p>Spend</p></td><td><p>Recoveries</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009/2010</p></td><td><p>£1.59m</p></td><td><p>£8.50m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010/2011</p></td><td><p>£1.33m</p></td><td><p>£9.77m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011/2012</p></td><td><p>£2.11m</p></td><td><p>£13.94m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012/2013</p></td><td><p>£1.95m</p></td><td><p>£14.15m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013/2014</p></td><td><p>£2.12m</p></td><td><p>£15.00m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014/2015</p></td><td><p>£2.52m</p></td><td><p>£17.30m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015/2016*</p></td><td><p>£1.64m</p></td><td><p>£11.05m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>*to
date</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p>
</p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p>
</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p>
</p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p>
</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p>
</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The cost to Child Maintenance Group of the debt collection
agencies, and the related recovery made by them, is as follows:</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Financial
Year</p></td><td><p>Spend</p></td><td><p>Recoveries</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009/2010</p></td><td><p>£1.25m</p></td><td><p>£10.20m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010/2011</p></td><td><p>£0.56m</p></td><td><p>£4.68m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011/2012</p></td><td><p>£0.35m</p></td><td><p>£1.35m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012/2013</p></td><td><p>£0.21m</p></td><td><p>£1.71m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013/2014</p></td><td><p>£0.05m</p></td><td><p>£1.21m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014/2015</p></td><td><p>£0.10m</p></td><td><p>£0.86m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015/2016
to date</p></td><td><p>£0.07m</p></td><td><p>£0.53m</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
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