Failing CSA must be scrapped - Jo tells PM

10.14.38am GMT Tue 29th Nov 2005

The Prime Minister has admitted that the CSA is not suited to its task

Jo Swinson MP has called for the Child Support Agency (CSA) to be scrapped following a startling admission from the Prime Minister that the CSA is 'not properly suited to perform its tasks'.

Jo has written today to the Prime Minister demanding he publish the strategic review of the CSA following continued delays and calling for the CSA to be scrapped and its functions be transferred to HM Revenue and Customs.

Jo said:

"The Prime Minister promised back in 1998 that he was looking urgently at reforming the CSA. However the situation now is as bad as ever.

"Over £3 billion is owed to children but remains uncollected, more than 35,000 compensation payments have been made over the last few years for maladministration, hundreds of thousands of cases remain unassessed - the average wait for these cases is 448 days. We have waited long enough for these failings to be put right.

"I have written to the Prime Minister demanding that he publishes the strategic review conducted by the new Chief Executive of the CSA. We were promised it would be published last week but are still waiting.

"The Government has had long enough to sort out these problems. Put quite simply, if the CSA is not suited to perform its tasks then it must be scrapped and replaced with a system that can."