Oral Answers to Questions — Social Security – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 19 October 1998.
John Healey
Labour, Wentworth
12:00,
19 October 1998
What plans he has under the proposals for reform of the Child Support Agency to ensure that maintenance payments from absent parents who are self-employed are enforced. [53489]
Angela Eagle
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Social Security)
As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State said earlier, those are some of the most difficult cases. We are considering basing the child support assessment on the most recent year's taxable income for self-employed non-resident parents. That information will be easy for non-resident parents to provide and should result in fewer disputed assessments.
If the non-resident parent refuses to pay, prompt action will be taken to enforce payment—for example, by sending in bailiffs or deducting money from bank accounts.
John Healey
Labour, Wentworth
I was glad to hear from my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State earlier that the Government are considering the use of the tax system in the long term to clamp down on such absent parents. What would my hon. Friend say to a constituent from Rawmarsh who contacted me last week, whose husband left her with two kids and six months pregnant? He had a £25,000-a-year job, but within weeks went self-employed and has evaded any maintenance payments since. What encouragement can my hon. Friend give to that woman and many others like her that action will be taken in the short term, not just in the long term?
Angela Eagle
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Social Security)
In the short term, the CSA has piloted arrangements including specialist teams to deal with self-employed cases. We have evidence that that is beginning to show beneficial results. However, as I said earlier, such cases are some of the most difficult to deal with. We believe that in the medium term, dealing with them through the income tax assessment system is a more effective way in which to get to the truth in these matters.
Mr Jonathan Sayeed
Conservative, Mid Bedfordshire
Will there be a Child Support Agency Bill in the Queen's Speech? If not, how do the Government intend to implement their new proposals?
Angela Eagle
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Social Security)
Madam Speaker, I am sure that you would not expect me to tell anyone in the House what was in the Queen's Speech. I hope that I can reassure the hon. Gentleman that we are determined to reform the mess that the Conservatives left us when they left office, and that the promise made by my right hon. Friend the Member for Camberwell and Peckham (Ms Harman) that there would be a draft Bill next year will be fulfilled.
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