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HOUSE OF COMMONS WORK AND PENSIONS COMMITTEE
THE PERFORMANCE OF THE CHILD SUPPORT AGENCY
Second Report of Session 2004/2005
The House of Commons published a report on the performance of the Child Support Agency on the 19 January
2005.
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WHAT WE SAID IN OUR SUBSCRIBER AREA
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“Given that the CSA themselves admit that approximately 28 per cent of their calculations are made incorrectly we cannot see any circumstances in which any decision should be allowed to go unscrutinised by an
Independent Tribunal…we believe that the refusal of the CSA to produce documentation relating to the means of the non-resident parent is against the interests of natural justice – and given the error rate of CSA calculations a decision to appeal can always be vindicated. “
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WHAT THE HOUSE OF COMMONS REPORT SAID
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“It has been suggested that it would be of more benefit to the parent with care to take the case to an appeal Tribunal to enable a more robust approach to assessment.”
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Full details of the appeal process – together with ‘top tips’ to secure a favourable outcome can be found on our subscriber service.
The House of Commons report also revealed other critical information about the CSA.
Amongst other things the report disclosed that: -
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The CSA collects about £601 million a year
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The administration costs are about £323 million
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£10 million has apparently been lost by the Agency
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28% of payments by non-resident parents received by the Agency were incorrect
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The MPs called the CSA performance as ‘woefully inadequate’
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With regard to computer systems the Committee concluded that ‘the long woeful story of the introduction of (the new Child Support Scheme) is yet another episode in the continuing saga of IT failures within Government in general and in the DWP specifically.’
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