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419864

registered interest
date	09/10/2015
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	CaTreasury
hansard heading	Children: Maintenance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many investigations HM Revenue and Customs has carried out for (a) non-payment of child maintenance and (b) allegations of fraudulent tax claims submitted to the Child Support Agency in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Cardiff South and Penarth
tabling member printed	Stephen Doughty
uin	11111
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/10/2015 answer text <p>(a) HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) does not enforce non-payment of child maintenance. This is the responsibility for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Child Maintenance Group.</p><p>(b) HMRC does not hold the numbers of fraudulent tax claims submitted to the Child Support Agency. The responsibility for providing HMRC with this information would be for DWP.</p> answering member constituency South West Hertfordshire answering member printed Mr David Gauke question first answered 14/10/2015 16:02:04 answering member 1529 label Biography information for Mr David Gauke
tabling member	4264 label Biography information for Stephen Doughty

420359

registered interest
date	09/10/2015
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Children: Maintenance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of Child Support Agency enforcement rates for payment of child maintenance.
tabling member constituency	Cardiff South and Penarth
tabling member printed	Stephen Doughty
uin	11114
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/10/2015 answer text <p>The latest published figures show 88% of cases on the 1993 and 2003 schemes and 88% of case groups on the 2012 scheme contributing towards their current maintenance liability.</p><p>Where a non-resident parent fails to meet their liabilities, the Child Support Agency has a range of enforcement powers. For example, child maintenance can be taken directly from bank accounts and wages; and the Government has also introduced a new power to disclose non-compliance to credit reference agencies.</p><p>The total number of enforcement actions taken by the Agency can be found on page 41 of the Child Support Agency Quarterly Summary of Statistics June 2015 available at <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/child-support-agency-quarterly-summary-statistics--2" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/child-support-agency-quarterly-summary-statistics--2</a>.</p> answering member constituency Witham answering member printed Priti Patel question first answered 14/10/2015 15:36:17 answering member 4066 label Biography information for Priti Patel
tabling member	4264 label Biography information for Stephen Doughty

420362

registered interest
date	09/10/2015
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Children: Maintenance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many liability orders issued by the Child Support Agency (CSA) for the non-payment of child maintenance resulted in (a) bailiffs acting on the CSA's behalf, (b) a county court third-party debt order, (c) an order of disqualification and (d) a warrant of commitment.
tabling member constituency	Cardiff South and Penarth
tabling member printed	Stephen Doughty
uin	11113
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/10/2015 answer text <p>The Department records statistics on the number of instances of different types of enforcement actions and publishes these in the Quarterly Summary Statistics. This information is set out on Page 41 of the Child Support Agency quarterly summary of statistics which can be accessed online at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/child-support-agency-quarterly-summary-of-statistics-june-2015" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/child-support-agency-quarterly-summary-of-statistics-june-2015</a>.</p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p>Note:</p><p>A County Court third-party debt order was the enforcement action used prior to the introduction of Regular and Lump Sum Deduction Orders.</p><p><strong></strong></p> answering member constituency Witham answering member printed Priti Patel question first answered 14/10/2015 15:32:08 answering member 4066 label Biography information for Priti Patel
tabling member	4264 label Biography information for Stephen Doughty

418990

registered interest
date	15/09/2015
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Children: Maintenance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department takes to ensure that absentee fathers are financially responsible for their dependent children.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	10282
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/09/2015 answer text <p>The new statutory child maintenance scheme (“the 2012 Scheme” - administered by the Child Maintenance Service) has a number of key features designed to ensure that non-resident parents meet their financial responsibilities to their children. <br></p><p>For example, the 2012 Scheme uses tax data taken directly from Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, addressing challenges around ensuring that the child maintenance calculation is based on accurate earnings information. The scheme also enables swifter identification and follow-up of those non-resident parents who fail to pay their child maintenance. <br></p><p>Where non-resident parents fail to meet their liabilities, there are a range of enforcement powers; for example, child maintenance can be taken directly from bank accounts and wages; non-resident parents are subject to charges for any enforcement action taken against them; and the Government has also introduced a new power to disclose non-compliance to credit reference agencies.</p><p> </p><p>Note:</p><p> </p><p>The Department for Work and Pensions is responsible for the Child Maintenance Service in Great Britain, in Northern Ireland Child Maintenance is administered by the Department for Social Development.</p> answering member constituency Witham answering member printed Priti Patel question first answered 23/09/2015 12:25:34 answering member 4066 label Biography information for Priti Patel
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

416393

registered interest
date	04/09/2015
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Children: Maintenance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answers of 30 June 2015 to Questions 4382 and 4385, what his Department's planning assumptions are on (a) the CSA case closure process and the numbers and rate at which cases will be closed and (b) the proportion of former CSA cases by segment expected to apply to the 2012 statutory child maintenance scheme in the case of proactive case closures cases and reactive case closure cases.
tabling member constituency	Bishop Auckland
tabling member printed	Helen Goodman
uin	8937
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2015 answer text <p /> <p>a) The closure of CSA cases is being progressed in accordance with “The Ending Liability Scheme”. The CSA cases currently being selected for closure are those in segment 4; having completed the planned selection of segments 1, 2 and 3. Cases that newly meet segment 1, 2 or 3 criteria (due to changes to the compliance status or the maintenance calculation value of the case) are identified and selected for closure alongside the current segment.</p><p> </p><p>Approximately 7,900 cases per week are selected for case closure, at which time those clients are notified that their CSA liability will end in 6 months time and are signposted to Child Maintenance Options to discuss and consider their future child maintenance arrangements.</p><p> </p><p>b) The information is in the table.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="3"><p><strong>The proportion of </strong><strong>CSA</strong><strong> clients expected to apply to the 2012 statutory child maintenance scheme</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td rowspan="4"><p>Proactive case closure</p></td><td><p>Segment 1</p></td><td><p>24%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Segment 2</p></td><td><p>45%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Segment 3 and 4</p></td><td><p>50%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Segment 5</p></td><td><p>50%</p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><p>Reactive case closure</p></td><td><p>63%</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Notes:</p><p> </p><p>1. The child support scheme for timing and related matters to ending liability in existing cases (“the ending liability scheme”) can be found at</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/child-maintenance-ending-liability-scheme" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/child-maintenance-ending-liability-scheme</a></p><p> </p><p>2. Assumptions are monitored and reviewed based on actual behaviours and findings as the CSA programme of case closure progresses.</p> answering member constituency Witham answering member printed Priti Patel question first answered 09/09/2015 14:36:47 answering member 4066 label Biography information for Priti Patel
tabling member	1484 label Biography information for Helen Goodman

391036

registered interest
date	17/07/2015
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Children: Maintenance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what factors were taken into account in setting the application fee for the Child Maintenance Service at £20.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	7793
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2015 answer text <p /> <p>Following the consultation <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/strengthening-families-promoting-parental-responsibility-the-future-of-child-maintenance" target="_blank">‘Strengthening families, promoting parental responsibility: the future of child maintenance’</a>, and debates in both Houses, the level of the application fee was reduced from £100 to £20. The fee is intended to strike the right balance of ensuring parents do not default into the statutory scheme, without placing an unreasonable financial burden on those who are unable to reach a family based arrangement. It also provides a nominal contribution to a system that is expensive to administer.</p><p> </p><p>Application fees do not apply to victims of domestic violence or to applicants aged 18 or under.</p> answering member constituency Witham answering member printed Priti Patel question first answered 22/07/2015 13:02:58 answering member 4066 label Biography information for Priti Patel
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

390868

registered interest
date	16/07/2015
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Children: Maintenance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much child maintenance was not collected in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	7691
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/07/2015 answer text <p /> <p>The table below shows the total amount of liability accrued each year and, by comparison, how much was received or adjusted and the difference at the end of the year. Liability accrued is compared with collections excluding and including amounts in respect of arrears and technical adjustments.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>A new methodology was introduced in the December 2013 Child Support Agency Quarterly Summary of Statistics which is only available for data from January 2012. Figures prior to this do not use a comparable methodology and are therefore not included.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Year ending:</p></td><td><p>Liability Accrued in the Year (£m)<sup>(2,3)</sup></p></td><td><p>Regular Maintenance Collected in the year i.e. excluding amounts towards arrears and technical adjustments (£m) <sup>(2,4)</sup></p></td><td><p>Difference in regular maintenance (£m) at the end of the year<sup> (6) </sup></p></td><td><p>Total Credits in the year i.e. including amounts towards arrears and technical adjustments (£m)<sup>(2,5)</sup></p></td><td><p>Difference in credits (£m) at the end of the year<sup>(7)</sup></p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>A</p></td><td><p>B</p></td><td><p>=A-B</p></td><td><p>C</p></td><td><p>=A-C</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Mar-13</p></td><td><p>£915.7</p></td><td><p>£655.0</p></td><td><p>£260.7</p></td><td><p>£828.3</p></td><td><p>£87.4</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Mar-14</p></td><td><p>£942.4</p></td><td><p>£688.0</p></td><td><p>£254.4</p></td><td><p>£849.0</p></td><td><p>£93.4</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Mar-15</p></td><td><p>£840.7</p></td><td><p>£629.3</p></td><td><p>£211.4</p></td><td><p>£767.4</p></td><td><p>£73.3</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p>Notes:</p><p> </p><p>1)</p><p>a. Figures are against the 1993 and 2003 statutory maintenance services only, including cases managed off system.</p><p>b. Maintenance Direct cases are not included within this table. A Maintenance Direct case would not accrue liability on the CSA computer Systems, due to money being paid directly between parents.</p><p>2) Total Liabilities is the sum of the quarterly amounts of money charged as regular maintenance (excluding any technical adjustments).</p><p>3) Regular maintenance collected is the amount of money paid via the collection service excluding technical adjustments. This figure is derived by summing the quarterly figures together. It is possible that some of the maintenance not collected in one of the quarters might be collected in the next quarter as arrears; however this will not be included in the regular maintenance figures.</p><p>4) Total credits are the sum of the quarterly amounts of money paid, including technical adjustments and contributions towards arrears, via the collection service.</p><p>5) The difference in regular maintenance at the end of the year is the amount of liability not collected on time within each quarter.</p><p>6) The difference in credits at the end of the year is the amount of liability not collected. This is the total amount of liability accrued minus regular maintenance collected, technical adjustments and payments towards arrears.</p><p>7) Quarterly figures are published in the Child Support Agency Quarterly Summary of Statistics which can be found at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/child-support-agency-quarterly-summary-of-statistics-march-2015" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/child-support-agency-quarterly-summary-of-statistics-march-2015</a></p> answering member constituency Witham answering member printed Priti Patel question first answered 24/07/2015 13:26:56 answering member 4066 label Biography information for Priti Patel
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

390870

registered interest
date	16/07/2015
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Children: Maintenance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to ensure self-employed people claiming child maintenance declare their income in full.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	7694
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/07/2015 answer text <p /> <p>For the 2012 scheme, income data is sought directly from HMRC.</p><p> </p><p>Under the 1993 and 2003 schemes self-employed earners are asked to provide HMRC’s Tax Calculation Notice as evidence of their income. If this cannot be provided, income data can be requested directly from HMRC.</p><p> </p><p>Should any client believe issues of tax fraud exist, we will signpost them appropriately to HMRC or the Financial Investigation Unit, run by the Child Maintenance Group.</p> answering member constituency Witham answering member printed Priti Patel question first answered 24/07/2015 13:31:30 answering member 4066 label Biography information for Priti Patel
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

390871

registered interest
date	16/07/2015
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Children: Maintenance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to improve the collection of child maintenance; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	7695
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/07/2015 answer text <p>Children have better outcomes when parents work together following a separation. As part of the child maintenance reforms introduced in 2012, everyone wishing to make an application to the statutory scheme is required to contact the Child Maintenance Options Service, which will provide information on the full range of options available to separating parents including where to find support to make their own, effective family based arrangements.</p><p> </p><p>Those parents who choose to use the 2012 scheme will benefit from a faster and simpler way of working out maintenance, with information on earnings collected direct from HMRC, and a self-service portal to enable parents to track payments.</p><p> </p><p>In the event of non-compliance the Department has a wide range of effective powers to collect child maintenance, including taking deductions direct from earnings and bank accounts. Those who persistently fail to pay may be committed to prison.</p><p> </p><p>The latest published figures are continuing to increase and are, at present, showing 88% of cases on the 1993 and 2003 schemes and 88% of case groups on the 2012 scheme contributing towards their current maintenance liability, their highest position to date.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Witham answering member printed Priti Patel question first answered 23/07/2015 10:57:24 answering member 4066 label Biography information for Priti Patel
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

387127

registered interest
date	01/07/2015
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Children: Maintenance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the prevalence of the use of dividends as income in order to reduce liabilities under Child Support Agency calculations; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Tewkesbury
tabling member printed	Mr Laurence Robertson
uin	5163
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/07/2015 answer text <p /> <p>The Department does not make assessments of prevalence of the use of dividends as income to reduce child maintenance liabilities as it is not possible to ascertain that the reason for the use of dividends has been solely to reduce a maintenance liability.</p> answering member constituency Witham answering member printed Priti Patel question first answered 10/07/2015 09:09:27 answering member 4066 label Biography information for Priti Patel
tabling member	253 label Biography information for Mr Laurence Robertson