Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answers of 30 June 2015 to Questions 4382 and 4385, what his Department's planning assumptions are on (a) the CSA case closure process and the numbers and rate at which cases will be closed and (b) the proportion of former CSA cases by segment expected to apply to the 2012 statutory child maintenance scheme in the case of proactive case closures cases and reactive case closure cases.

a) The closure of CSA cases is being progressed in accordance with “The Ending Liability Scheme”. The CSA cases currently being selected for closure are those in segment 4; having completed the planned selection of segments 1, 2 and 3. Cases that newly meet segment 1, 2 or 3 criteria (due to changes to the compliance status or the maintenance calculation value of the case) are identified and selected for closure alongside the current segment.

Approximately 7,900 cases per week are selected for case closure, at which time those clients are notified that their CSA liability will end in 6 months time and are signposted to Child Maintenance Options to discuss and consider their future child maintenance arrangements.

b) The information is in the table.

Notes:

1. The child support scheme for timing and related matters to ending liability in existing cases (“the ending liability scheme”) can be found at

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/child-maintenance-ending-liability-scheme

2. Assumptions are monitored and reviewed based on actual behaviours and findings as the CSA programme of case closure progresses.