19 November 2004
Doug Smith resigned as chief executive of the troubled Child Support Agency on November 17 as he revealed that it was still plagued by IT failures.
Smith told the Commons work and pensions select committee that EDS, the company responsible for the agency's flawed computer systems, had missed its recovery plan targets.
He added that there was still no final date for putting all old CSA cases on to the new computer system. Failure to effectively record data from around 740,000 old cases within the new £456m IT system has exacerbated the agency's problems.
Sources at the DWP said that thousands of parents who claim benefits, who qualify for reduced weekly payments to the CSA, have been overpaying by around £10 per week. The cost of all overpayments could be as high as £1bn a year. The DWP said it was 'working with our supplier to remedy [problems].'
PFnov2004
