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Child Support Agency

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This article is about the Child Support Agency in the United Kingdom. For the Child Support Agency in Australia, see Child Support Agency (Australia). For the equivalent agency in Northern Ireland, see Northern Ireland Child Support Agency.
Child Support Agency
Child Support Agency logo
Agency overview
Formed5 April 1992 (1992-04-05)
Dissolved31 October 2012 (2012-10-31)
Superseding agency
JurisdictionGreat Britain
StatusAbolished
Minister responsible
Parent departmentDepartment for Work and Pensions

The Child Support Agency (CSA) was a delivery arm of the Department for Work and Pensions (Child Maintenance Group) in Great Britain and the former Department for Social Development in Northern Ireland. Launched on 5 April 1993, the CSA was to implement the Child Support Act 1991 and arrange payments for parents living with their children.[1] The CSA was abolished and replaced in 2012 by its successor, the Child Maintenance Service (CMS).

Functions and involvement

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The CSA's function was twofold, encompassing calculation of how much child maintenance is due (based on current legislation and rules) and collection, enforcement and transferral of the payment from the non-resident parent to the person with care.

For the CSA to generate a mediation of payment case, their services had to be requested by one of the parents; or to generate a recovery case, the parent with care (PWC) had to be in receipt of Income support, Jobseekers Allowance, Sickness Benefit, or another such benefit. Legislation also allowed children in Scotland to initiate a case against one or both non-resident parents (NPCs).

The CSA could not get involved, even upon request, in the following circumstances (except in cases where the parent with care claims Income Support or Jobseekers Allowance):

  • if the non-resident parent lives abroad;
  • if a written agreement made prior to 5 April 1993, is in place;
  • if a court order regarding maintenance was made before 3 March 2003.[2]

Calculation and systems

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A new method of child maintenance calculation came into effect on 3 March 2003. The previous method used a "complex formula of up to 108 pieces of information",[3] by first calculating the total child maintenance required based on the children's ages, then calculating the non-resident parents income after various allowances were subtracted, and finally working out what portion of the calculated maintenance was to be paid by the non-resident parent, based on their income.[4]

Under the new method the formula for child maintenance was simplified, with a fixed percentage basic rate being calculated using the NRPs net income (of £200 to £2,000 per week), and deductions of 15% for one child, 20% for two, and 25% for three or more.[5] Where maintenance is calculated using the basic rate, the amount of maintenance is also reduced if the non-resident parent has children in their current family. Where this is relevant, the CSA would not take into account: 15% of their net weekly income if there is one child living with them, 20% if they are two children living with them, and 25% for three or more.[6]

Criticism

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The Independent Case Examiner (ICE) was set up in 1997 as an independent body to deal with complaints about the CSA. Three recurring themes are mentioned in multiple previous annual reports,[7] namely delay (51% of complaints in 2004-2005), error (24% of complaints in 2004-2005) and no action taken (14% of complaints in 2004-2005). According to Department for Work and Pensions statistics,[8] the average length of time for a case to be cleared under the new scheme has increased from an average of 18 days in March 2003, to 287 in December 2005.

Updated statistics published in the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission Annual Report and Accounts 2010/11[9] showed that, whilst payments were being made in 65% of CSA cases for the year April 2006 – March 2007, this had increased to 78% by March 2011.

Assessments based on the same financial criteria can give different results, depending on which rules the case is judged under. Non-resident parents who would pay less under the new rules could not get reassessed, except in special circumstances. While the CSA planned to move everyone to the same system in due course, in the interim different people with identical situations would pay different amounts, based solely on when the case was first assessed. One father, whose monthly payments would have dropped from £250 to £150 under the new rules, decided to take the CSA to the European Court of Human Rights, claiming that this discrepancy amounted to discrimination under article 14 of the convention.[10] However, official statistics showed that the average weekly liability was slightly more under the new scheme. For the years 2006—2007, the average new scheme liability was constantly £23 per week, whereas the old scheme varied from £22 to £23.[8]

In November 2004, the head of the CSA resigned amid widespread criticism of the CSA systems.[11] Sir Archy Kirkwood, chairman of Work and Pensions Committee, described the situation as "a systemic, chronic failure of management right across the totality of the agency."[12] In November 2005, Prime Minister Tony Blair, admitted that the CSA is "not properly suited" to its job, amid reports that for every £1.85 that gets through to children, the CSA spend £1 on administration.[13][14]

Even prior to its opening, the CSA was subject to criticism, with MP David Tredinnick describing the CSA as a "sequel to 1984" due to concerns about "CSA Snooping".[13] In February 2006, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions John Hutton asked Sir David Henshaw to redesign the child support system[15] with three key areas of focus; how best to ensure parents take financial responsibility for their children when they are apart, the best arrangements for delivering this outcome cost effectively and the options for moving to new structures and policies, recognising the need to protect the level of service offered to the current 1.5 million parents with care.[16]

On 24 July 2006, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, John Hutton MP, announced that the CSA was not working and as a result would be axed and replaced by a "smaller, more focused" body.[17]

In March 2008 a website, CSAhell.com, allowed people to publicly post their stories and receive feedback.[18] The website was quoted in the national press on CSA-related stories.[19][20] Since its creation, the website has published almost 2,500 stories and complaints about the CSA, and has itself been criticised by the Public and Commercial Services Union.[21]

Outstanding debt

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CSA arrears accumulated since 1993 totals just under £3.8bn.[22] This total remained largely unchanged between 2008 and 2011.

Replacement

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In December 2006, the Department for Work and Pensions published its Child Support white paper outlining its plans for the future of Child Support.[23]

On 1 November 2008, the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission took management responsibility for the CSA.[24]

In October 2011, the Department for Work and Pensions launched a public consultation on plans to abolish CMEC and transfer its functions back to the Department. This was approved after consultation and agreement by both Houses of Parliament. Responsibility for staff and functions passed from CMEC back to the Department for Work and Pensions on 30 July 2012, becoming the 'Child Maintenance Group'.

From 10 December 2012, a new system of child maintenance began operation, initially for specific applicants. It is known as the 'Child Maintenance Service', and operates within the legislation provided under the Welfare Reform Act 2012. Existing cases continue under previous legislation at present.

From 25 November 2013, all new applications for child maintenance must be made through the 'Child Maintenance Service' using the new statutory '2012 Scheme' and associated legislation. No new applications are accepted by the Child Support Agency, and existing cases are being closed on a planned progression basis, which is intended to finish by 2017/18.

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ The Law relating to Child Support Archived 2013-05-25 at the Wayback Machine - Department for Work and Pensions
  2. ^ "Child Support: a technical guide" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 October 2006. Retrieved 20 January 2007.
  3. ^ "Child support complaints up by a third". BBC News. BBC. 3 July 2001. Retrieved 28 October 2006.
  4. ^ "Child support: For Parents Who Live Apart" (PDF). Child Support Agency. December 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 March 2006.
  5. ^ "Delayed CSA system to go online". BBC News. BBC. 27 January 2003. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
  6. ^ "How is Child Maintenance Worked Out?" (PDF). Child Support Agency. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 October 2011. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
  7. ^ "The Independent Case Examiner's Annual Report 2004/2005". Independent Case Examiner. Department for Work and Pensions. Archived from the original on 9 February 2006.
  8. ^ a b "Child Support Agency Quarterly Summary Statistics". Child Support Agency. Department for Work and Pensions. December 2005. Archived from the original on 13 February 2006.
  9. ^ [1] Archived 2012-01-20 at the Wayback Machine CMEC Annual Report and Accounts 2010/11
  10. ^ "Father takes CSA case to Europe". BBC News. BBC. 28 July 2004. Retrieved 15 February 2008.
  11. ^ "CSA chief resigns amid criticism". BBC News. BBC. 17 November 2004. Retrieved 20 November 2005.
  12. ^ "'Basically, it doesn't work'". BBC News. BBC. 17 November 2004. Retrieved 18 May 2006. The head of the Child Support Agency has resigned amid widespread criticism of the agency's work, including its computer system. Employees, customers and others express their views on the problem-plagued agency.
  13. ^ a b "The troubled history of the CSA". BBC News. BBC. 18 February 2006. Retrieved 24 June 2006.
  14. ^ "CSA not suited to job, says Blair". BBC News. BBC. 16 November 2005. Retrieved 17 May 2006. Tony Blair says the Child Support Agency is "not properly suited" to its job and is being urgently looked at.
  15. ^ "'Unacceptable' CSA faces overhaul". BBC News. BBC. 9 February 2006. Retrieved 3 March 2006. The under-fire Child Support Agency is to be completely overhauled, Work Secretary John Hutton has told MPs.
  16. ^ "Recovering Child Support: Routes to Responsibility" (PDF). Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. July 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 June 2009.
  17. ^ "Child Support Agency to be axed". BBC News. BBC. 24 July 2006. Retrieved 8 October 2007. The Child Support Agency (CSA) is being scrapped, with absent parents facing curfews and the suspension of their passports, MPs have been told.
  18. ^ "CSAhell.com". Archived from the original on 18 December 2011.
  19. ^ Baxter, Anthony (11 January 2011). "Home DNA kits to test paternity go on sale in shops". Newsbeat. BBC.
  20. ^ Donnelly, Laura (5 February 2012). "The perils of the £30 paternity test". The Sunday Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. Archived from the original on 4 February 2012.
  21. ^ "CSA Staff Under Attack". Recent information from the union in DWP. Public and Commercial Services Union. Archived from the original on 12 January 2012. PCS members working in the Child Maintenance Enforcement Commission (CMEC) in particular have been coming under increased attack on Facebook through the so called CSA Hell site.
  22. ^ "CSA Quarterly Summary of Statistics July 2011" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 September 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  23. ^ "Website to Shame Absent Parents". BBC News. BBC. 10 December 2006. Retrieved 14 October 2007. Ministers are planning to publish on the internet the names of absent parents who refuse to pay maintenance for their children.
  24. ^ Henry, Robin (1 November 2008). "Commission inherits billions in unpaid child support". The Times. London. Retrieved 2 April 2011.[dead link]
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