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Annual Report and Accounts 2006/2007The Agency has published it's Annual Report and Accounts for 2006/2007. The report gives detailed information on our performance against all areas of our work.
Here is a brief summary of the report:-
The Public Service Agreement target to increase the number of children getting maintenance by 65% (on March 2003 level) was exceeded with a 106% achievement.
During the year we recorded the best ever accuracy and decision making standards in the Northern Ireland business. Accuracy on both schemes was 98% against a target of 92% for new scheme and 90% for old scheme.
Once again the amount of money collected or arranged was at it’s highest level both in the NI business and for our customers in GB. The total maintenance collected or paid direct for Northern Ireland clients was over £18 m and for Great Britain clients was over £151m.
The Agency launched it’s Operational Improvement Project in April to manage the operational improvements and the first year of project has provided encouraging signs of improvement.
The Agency commenced an advertising campaign aimed at non-compliant Non Resident Parents, to highlight the Agency’s enforcement powers.
Annual Report on Decision Making 2006/2007Our Annual Report on the Standard of Decision Making in 2006/2007 is now available. The report details the monitoring findings against our maintenance assessments and maintenance accounts decisions.
The response to the consultation on the Child Maintenance White PaperThe Department for Work and Pensions has published its response to the consultation on the Child Maintenance White Paper, ‘A New System of Child Maintenance’, which was published last year.
The White Paper put forward proposals for a fresh start for child maintenance, including replacing the Child Support Agency with a tougher new organisation.
The new organisation would provide a new information and support service to ensure parents get additional help to make their own maintenance arrangements where they can, or use the new body to quickly establish and enforce payments where they cannot.
The Great Britain Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, John Hutton, said:
“Parents have an absolute moral and financial duty to support their children. Our proposals firmly place this responsibility with parents, and support them to make private arrangements which put their kids first.
“However, there will always be individuals who try to escape their obligations and the new commission will have the powers to come down hard and fast on those who force the state to intervene.”
The consultation received around 200 responses and a high level of support for proposals that establish and enforce clear rights and responsibilities.
Proposals being taken forward include:
- The introduction of an information and support service, open to all parents who need help and support to establish and maintain private arrangements;
- Removing the requirement to apply to the courts before proceeding with enforcement action and replacing it with a swifter and more effective administrative process;
- Make much more use of information drawn from financial institutions and credit reference agencies in order to trace non-resident parents and collect and enforce maintenance;
- Seek new powers that would allow the new organisation to take money out of people's bank accounts;
- Enforce the surrender of a non-resident parent’s passport or impose a curfew on them if they fail to pay maintenance;
- Publish, in suitable cases, the names of non-resident parents who are successfully prosecuted or who have a successful application made against them in court;
The Department for Work and Pensions has also published it’s response to the conclusions and recommendations of The Work and Pensions Select Committee report ‘Child Support Reform’ which was published earlier this year.
Independent Case Examiner for the Social Security Agency and Northern Ireland Child Support Agency Annual Report 2006/2007The role of the Independent Case Examiner is to act as an independent referee if clients feel that specific Government Agencies have not treated them fairly or have not dealt with complaints in a satisfactory manner.
This report covers the findings of the Independent Case Examiner
For more information view:
Child Maintenance White Paper “A new system of child maintenance”The Government published the Child Maintenance White Paper “A new system of child maintenance” on 13th December. This White Paper sets out the Government’s proposals to establish a new and different organisation to administer child maintenance. This will be underpinned by an entirely new approach that encourages parents to take responsibility for supporting their children financially but is backed up by a tough enforcement regime for cases where this does not happen. The reforms will help the child maintenance system to achieve the important objectives set for it – to help tackle child poverty, promote parental responsibility, provide a cost effective and professional service and be simple and transparent.
A new organisation will be set up to replace the Child Support Agency. It will have responsibility for all aspects of the new child maintenance system including providing parents with information and guidance to help them make their own arrangements and the calculation, collection and enforcement of maintenance.
There will be no immediate change for the existing Child Support Agency which will continue to operate until 2008. During the period where we are setting up the new organisation we will continue to increase our focus on compliance and enforcement as part of the improvements to our service we have already made, and are continuing to make, as part of the Operational Improvement Project.
The Child Support Agency remains firmly open for business and we will intensify and increase our efforts to improve our client services and get more money flowing to more children.
'Focus on Families' says poverty reportMore focused employment services would help more parents into work and boost progress towards eradicating child poverty by 2020, according to a report published by an independent adviser to the Department for Work and Pensions.
The Government welcomed the report: “Delivering on Child Poverty: What would it take?” by Lisa Harker, who was appointed by the Department for Work and Pensions to advise on its work to cut child poverty.
David Hanson welcomes redesign of Child SupportDavid Hanson MP has welcomed the proposals towards a simpler system of child support.
Speaking after the publication of Sir David Henshaw’s report, the Minister said: "Sir David has recommended a move to a simpler system of child support that enables and encourages parents to make their own arrangements but delivers firmly and more effectively for parents who need help in arranging child maintenance.
Supporting Documents
Great Britain Child Support Agency Operational Improvement PlanThe Northern Ireland Child Support Agency will be considering our ways of working in light of the Great Britain Agency's Operational Improvement Plan.
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