Fiona Short [[FOI #8122 email]]

Dear Ms Short,

Thank you for your e-mail dated 14 February 2009 in which you made a request for the Child Support Agency's information. Your request has been considered under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Please find below a copy of your request together with a corresponding response.

Request

As a result of a phone conversation this morning I am aware that my own personal and financial details are available to CSA/CMEC staff. I have never had any direct involvement with CSA/CMEC - my only association is as a result of my partner's obligations.

Please inform me how many people who have no direct involvement in any child maintenance case (e.g. new partners of non-resident parents) have personal, financial or employment details recorded on CSA/CMEC databases or visible to staff.

Please also inform me what steps the CSA/CMEC are taking to obtain permission for keeping such records and what measures are in place to protect and dispose of this information in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998.

Response

The number of non resident parents' partners who have their personal, financial or employment details recorded on the Child Support Agency's computer systems is not routinely recorded. We estimate that to obtain this information would exceed the disproportionate cost limit of £450. This represents the estimated cost of one person spending 2.25 days locating, retrieving and extracting the information. Under section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act the Department is not obliged to comply with your request and we will not be processing this part of your request further.

Provision for the use of income details about a non-resident parent's partner is contained Paragraph 6(5)(b) of Schedule 1 to the Child Support Act 1991; but this part of the schedule only extends to applications for maintenance made prior to the 3rd of March 2003 (old scheme).

The detailed regulations providing for the manner that this information should be used can be found at Regulation 9, 11, 18, 28, Schedule 1 and 2 of the Child Support (Maintenance Assessment and Special Cases) Regulations 1992.

For applications for maintenance registered after 3rd of March 2003 (current scheme) Paragraph 4 to Schedule 1 of the Child Support Act 1991 makes clear the effect of a partner's information where a flat rate is payable or where the non-resident parent's household is receiving tax credits - a partner's details are not otherwise needed in the current scheme

Information the non-resident parent discloses to the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission about his or her partner will be stored, made available to the staff for the purposes of calculating maintenance payments (as described in the above paragraphs) and disposed of in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998.

Further information on the Agency's policies are contained within the Child Support Agency Data Retention Policy which I have attached at Annex A.

The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission adopt a range of security measures to ensure that personal data is protected. Appropriate technical security barriers, as recommended by HMG policy and security standards, are employed to prevent unauthorised access from external sources.

All staff receive security training especially in the protection of personal information and are aware that they should only access information which they are entitled to see as part of their duties. Section 50 of the Child Support Act 1991 makes it an offence to disclose information without lawful authority.

Staff must be authorised to use our IT systems by managers and then access to data is restricted on a need to know basis, that is to say staff should not see information that is not relevant to their role. They must also be in possession of a physical token and password to access IT systems and this is controlled via a robust and proven set of procedures. Additionally, a number of technical and management checks have been implemented to ensure that systems are being operated correctly.

If you are not satisfied with the handling of your request please tell us why, to the e-mail address above, within two calendar months of the date of this letter. The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission will then arrange for someone to conduct an internal review of your request and its handling/decision. The review will be conducted by a senior officer. This person will have taken no part in the original decision. You will be advised of their decision in writing.

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review you have the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner to look into the way your request has been handled. Please note that generally the Information Commissioner cannot make a decision unless you have first exhausted the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission's own complaints procedure.

The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:

FOI Complaints Resolution
Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Fax: 01625 524510
email: [email address]

Yours sincerely

Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission
Freedom of Information Act Focal Point