Child Support Agency performance figures make a case for its demise

12.35.02am UTC (GMT +0000) Fri 28th Oct 2005

David Laws MP "These figures show what a terrible shambles the reformed CSA has become"

New figures released as part of the quarterly statistics on the Child Support Agency (CSA) reveal some startling facts that show the agency needs to be put out of it's misery and it's functions transferred to the Inland Revenue.

73,000 applications from before March 2003 are awaiting processing

261,000 cases to the new scheme are still awaiting processing - over a third of applications since March 2003

Of those applications made in the first month more than half(54%) took a year to assess, and a quarter (24%) remain unassessed.

The average wait for people whose cases remain unassessed is 448 days.

Despite being told that the new scheme would lead to most non-resident parents paying less maintenance to improve compliance, the reverse has happened and the average liability is now higher in the new scheme than the old

Commenting on these figures, Liberal Democrat Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, David Laws MP, said: "These figures show what a terrible shambles the reformed CSA has become. It has been mired in failure since it began in 1993. And despite promises from the Prime Minister in 1998 that the reforms would make things better, they've made things worse.

"Ministers have run out of excuses. The CSA's functions must be transferred to the Revenue so that it better serves those who are trying to pay their maintenance and properly pursues those who aren't."