New CSA chief appointed

Stephen Geraghty has been appointed as the new chief executive of the embattled Child Support Agency.

Mr Geraghty, formerly managing director of Direct Line Group, will take up his post on April 4 in succession to Doug Smith, who was strongly criticised by MPs over the failure of an IT system that was supposed to improve the agency’s operation.

Work and Pensions Secretary Alan Johnson, who controversially announced Mr Smith’s resignation while giving evidence to the Work and Pensions Select Committee, said: “I welcome this appointment and I look to Stephen to improve the performance of the Child Support Agency which has experienced significant problems with its computer system.”

But the appointment was met with scepticism by Work and Pensions Secretary David Willetts who said the DWP was “still failing to set a date for acceptable performance of the CSA’s computer systems”.