Paul Rowen (Shadow Minister, Work & Pensions; Rochdale, Liberal Democrat)

We had a full debate on that last week, and I was disappointed that the Minister could not accept a reasonable amendment that would have set the agency up with that very clear purpose. This measure is not only about collecting money, but putting arrangements in place to ensure that children are properly cared for.

On professional and technical services, I want to make a brief comment about the provision of IT services, which has bedevilled the CSA since its inception. There are still two different computer systems in operation. I know that the Secretary of State said in February in evidence to the Select Committee that the Government intended not to have a new system. However, he also stated that they were happy with the arrangements with EDS and that there was a clear programme to ensure that the problems with the current system would be worked out. I hope that the Minister can update us on the improvements to IT services. I am still experiencing problems in my casework that are caused by the inability of the IT systems to extract the information that is needed.

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