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  • Pamela Nash – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Pamela Nash – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Pamela Nash on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of the total Child Support Agency arrears owed to parents with care is regarded as (a) potentially collectable and (b) likely to be collected in the next three years in (i) Scotland, (ii) England, (iii) Wales and (iv) Northern Ireland.

    Steve Webb

    The proportion of child maintenance arrears owed to parents with care that is potentially collectable and likely to be collected is shown in the table below, as at March 2013.

    Northern Ireland does not fall within the jurisdiction of the Great Britain Child Support Agency.

    Collectability analysis looks at the likelihood of arrears being collected and does not include a timeframe for collections.

    Total Potentially or Likely to be Collected

    Potentially Collectable

    Likely Collectable

    Scotland

    26%

    13%

    13%

    England

    25%

    12%

    13%

    Wales

    26%

    13%

    13%

    Notes:

    1. Geographical breakdowns are based on the location of the non resident parent in each case.

    2. Collectability breakdowns as published in the Client Fund Accounts include an estimate for collections from future legal activity. As this has not yet occurred then it cannot be allocated to geographical areas so is not included in the figures above.

    3. Proportions have been calculated using CS2 and CSCS cases only and excludes cases administered off system.

  • Kate Green – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Kate Green – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what contingency arrangements have been put in place by the Department’s Child Maintenance Group to ensure that the Child Maintenance Options Service answers all calls promptly and there is a good service; and how often those contingency arrangements were invoked in the last year.

    Steve Webb

    The Child Maintenance Options service has an effective business continuity plan in place, which includes the ability to divert calls to other trained colleagues and deploy a variety of telephony-based solutions such as Interactive Voice Response.

    There were around eight occasions in which contingency measures had to be used in the last year for reasons including brief local power outages, activation of the fire alarm system and occasions where call demands exceeded forecasted volumes.

    Steps have been taken to prevent or minimise any reoccurrence of these events, including the installation of an uninterrupted power supply and better forecasting as we fully establish the impact of recent changes such as the use of Child Maintenance Options as a mandatory gateway to the statutory scheme.

  • Katy Clark – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Katy Clark – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Katy Clark on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he last reviewed the level of income disregard threshold for employment and support allowance.

    Esther McVey

    The occupational pension income threshold for Employment and Support Allowance was last reviewed as part of the 2014/15 annual uprating exercise. It was decided that no change would be made.

  • Kate Green – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Kate Green – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many calls the Child Maintenance Options Service received in each month in the last year.

    Steve Webb

    The number of successful inbound calls received by the Child Maintenance Options Service in each month of the last year is available in the table below.

    Month

    Number of calls received by the Child Maintenance Options Service

    May-13

    7,845

    Jun-13

    8,915

    Jul-13

    10,360 1

    Aug-13

    11,990

    Sep-13

    13,835

    Oct-13

    14,835

    Nov-13

    21,375 2

    Dec-13

    22,760

    Jan-14

    26,515

    Feb-14

    25,875

    Mar-14

    26,865

    Apr-14

    24,565

    Notes:

    – Data Sourced from CMO Monthly MI Service Pack

    – Data rounded to nearest 5

    1 Child Maintenance Options started providing a ‘soft gateway’ to the 2012 statutory child maintenance scheme, offering parents applying to the 2012 Scheme the opportunity to explore the full range of options before making an application, including considering making their own arrangements.

    2 Child Maintenance Options became the automatic ‘gateway’ to the statutory 2012 child maintenance scheme, ensuring all parents who wish to access the 2012 Scheme are making a fully informed decision and have considered making their own arrangements first.

  • Katy Clark – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Katy Clark – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Katy Clark on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the saving was to the public purse from the reduction of (a) employment and support allowance and (b) incapacity benefit for individuals in receipt of a pension income of more than £85 per week in 2013-14.

    Esther McVey

    The information is not available as no such estimate has been undertaken.

  • John McDonnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    John McDonnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John McDonnell on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much the Government will receive from deductions of charges and from charges for enforcement action in child maintenance cases under the Child Maintenance Options contract; and what profit will be made by G4S in running this contract.

    Steve Webb

    The Child Maintenance Options service offers information and support to help separating and separated parents make an informed choice about their child maintenance arrangement. The service has operated under contract to the Department since 2008, most recently by G4S.

    Once client charges are introduced they will be applied by the Department only once a client is within, or applies to, the 2012 Scheme run by the Child Maintenance Service, which is part of the Department for Work and Pensions. Charging does not in any way form part of the Child Maintenance Options contract.

    Details of the Child Maintenance Options contract can be viewed at: https://online.contractsfinder.businesslink.gov.uk/Common/View%20Notice.aspx?site=1000&lang=en&noticeid=1072427&fs=true

    The level of profit that a supplier makes through a commercial contract cannot be disclosed as this action would be prejudicial to the supplier’s commercial interests.

    “

  • Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 11 June 2014, Official Report, column 176W, on work capability assessment, if he will make it his policy to set a target timescale for employment and support allowance and incapacity benefit reassessment work capability assessments in order to monitor and reduce the waiting times for those assessments.

    Mike Penning

    We are committed to completing Work Capability Assessments as quickly as possible so that eligible claimants receive the appropriate rate of benefit.

    However it is important to get assessments right rather than setting an artificial timescale for completion. We are working with the existing supplier to improve processing times and reduce waiting times. In addition, we are seeking a replacement supplier to undertake Work Capability Assessments.

    In the meantime we continue to rigorously monitor and manage the existing contract to ensure that both quality and performance are maintained as part of our drive to improve the quality of decision making and process claims more quickly.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of recent trends in employment in the private sector.

    Esther McVey

    There are more people in private sector jobs than ever before, up over 2 million since 2010.

  • John McDonnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    John McDonnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John McDonnell on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reasons the G4S contract to provide the Child Maintenance Options programme was underestimated; for what reasons staff in his Department were assisting G4S with its work on this programme; and if he will consider transferring G4S staff under TUPE regulations to his Department.

    Steve Webb

    Call forecasting volumes used as part of a re-tendering exercise for delivery of the Child Maintenance Options service were based on historic call volume data. From November 2013, Child Maintenance Options became the mandatory gateway for all new applicants to the statutory scheme, which led to an incremental increase in demand.

    This, among other recent changes, added an increased level of uncertainty into forecasting call volumes, in anticipation of which the Department has in place planned and agreed business continuity arrangements with the supplier. This includes the use of colleagues from the Department in order to take some calls where volumes exceed contracted levels.

    This service was introduced in 2008 and has never been delivered in-house, and there are no plans to do so. Therefore, the transferring of staff under TUPE regulations is not applicable.

  • John McDonnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    John McDonnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John McDonnell on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many staff in his Department have been asked to assist G4S in the delivery of the new Child Maintenance Options scheme to date; how many more staff G4S estimates will be needed to administer this contract when peak levels of applications are reached; and how much in staffing costs his Department is liable to pay as a result.

    Steve Webb

    The Child Maintenance Options service is not a new service and was introduced in 2008. It offers information and support to help separating and separated parents make an informed choice about their child maintenance arrangement. It is not a child maintenance scheme.

    The Department has in place planned and agreed business continuity arrangements with its supplier. This includes utilising the Department’s staff to take some calls where volumes exceed contracted levels. Over the past nine months the Department has used anything from 5 to 20 people for periods ranging from minutes to hours.

    The child maintenance reform programme includes ending liabilities on Child Support Agency cases in the 1993 and 2003 schemes over the next three years and it is too early to accurately predict when peak call volumes into Child Maintenance Options will be reached. Child Maintenance Options calculates resource requirements based on forecast volumes provided by the Department on a rolling three month basis. The number of staff Child Maintenance Options employs will increase in line with these forecasts over the next three years before returning to more normal levels when the reforms have completed. The associated costs are reflected in the contract.