PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Children: Maintenance (8 May 2018)

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of staff who work in his Department’s Financial Investigation Unit are tasked with seeking to identify the assets and income of people alleged to be hiding those assets and income from the Child Maintenance Service; of how many people at what grades that proportion consists; and what recent assessment has been made of the adequacy of that number for the task those staff perform.

Asked by:
Karin Smyth (Labour)

As at the end of March 2018, we have 73 people working within the Child Maintenance Financial Investigation Unit, which is comprised of 1 Grade 7, 2 SEOs, 7 HEOs, 51 EOs and 12 AOs. Of these people, all except the AOs are tasked with seeking to identify assets and income of people alleged to be hiding those assets and income. The numbers of people working within the Financial Investigation Unit is reviewed regularly, with the most recent review completing in April 2018. Plans are in place to increase the numbers of people by a further 23 (1 SEO, 2 HEOs and 20 EOs) by December 2018.

Answered by:
Kit Malthouse (Conservative)
14 May 2018