Costs spiral at CSA as computer glitches rise

The inadequacies of the Child Support Agency’s computer systems mean the number of cases being dealt with manually is spiralling, driving up costs at the beleaguered government agency.

According to the most recent figures available, the number of cases that have had to be removed from the CS2 system has hit 100,000.

The much-criticised CS2 computer system has a long history of failing to manage cases workflows correctly. As a result, cases get stuck in the system, which could lead to delays in payments being made.

To combat this, the CSA instigated a process to remove cases from CS2 and transfer them to an outsourced clerical system. On average, that doubles the cost of dealing with cases.

Reports in the Sun newspaper suggest a senior government source admitted: “the computer systems are in chaos”.

But a spokesman for the CSA told Computing the situation was far from chaotic.

“It’s true that the costs for a case in the clerical system is far higher. As a result of moving cases off CS2, our costs have risen. But this is a long-standing issue and we are have plans to introduce a replacement system.”

In April 2009, the CSA confirmed that Tata Consulting Services had been hired as a systems integrator for the replacement system, which was designed by the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission (CMEC).

The new computer system is expected to come online at some point in 2012, and “more detailed announcements” about that project are expected to be made soon, the spokesman said.

The CMEC was formed in November 2008 to set up a new statutory child maintenance scheme to replace the two troubled IT systems at the CSA, which had become synonymous with the failures of government computing systems.