Parents who fail to support their children financially could be placedunder curfew, be electronically tagged and have their passportsconfiscated under Government proposals to replace the Child SupportAgency (CSA) with a tougher, more streamlined successor.
There will also be a drive to force mothers to put the name of thefather on the birth certificate so they can be chased for money lateron. Sir David Henshaw, the former chief executive of Liverpool CityCouncil who developed the proposals, called for "fundamental change inthe way child support is organised in this country".
In his report Recovering Child Support: Routes to Responsibility, heproposed abolishing the CSA. In its place, he would like to see anorganisation, "focused on child welfare and enforcingresponsibilities".
A 3.5bn case backlog
Set up in 1993 by the Conservatives, the CSA was designed to save moneyfor the taxpayer but it has faced repeated criticism forincompetence.
A National Audit Office report in July found there was a backlog ofaround 330,000 cases, amounting to some 3.5bn of arrears(Children Now, 5-11 July).
Henshaw's report revealed that more money is spent running the systemthan is collected. The agency currently costs the taxpayer 200m ayear with only 13 per cent of cases having the potential to recoup moneyfor the state, according to the report. John Hutton, the work andpensions secretary, said he would make changes in line with Henshaw'srecommendations (Children Now, 26 July-1 August).
A major problem with the current system is that benefit is reduced andthen topped up with the maintenance payments. This means that neitherparent has an incentive to co-operate. Chris Pond, chief executive ofOne Parent Families, said that Henshaw's proposal "to allow lone parentson income support to keep a significantly higher proportion of any childmaintenance paid to them, rather than the 10 allowed at present,is very welcome".
Pond believes this will lead to non-resident parents being more likelyto pay up if they know their children will benefit directly from themoney. He also praised the idea of allowing parents to decide whetherthey want to use a state-run collection service.
Under the new recommendations, the agency will only get involved whenthe parents cannot come to an agreement themselves or if the mother orfather tries to evade their responsibilities. This would leave theGovernment dealing with "a smaller set of more difficult cases". In thelong run this is expected to yield savings in the region of 200m,according to Henshaw's report.
Those who want a private arrangement to be legally enforceable will beable to obtain a consent order. However, Kate Green, chief executive ofthe Child Poverty Action Group, warned that the Government must monitorhow much money gets through to those parents making privatearrangements.
The report also said that effective enforcement is vital to the successof the child support system. Hutton has suggested a range of sanctionsincluding curfews and suspension of passports to achieve this. Butbefore these sanctions can be implemented, Hutton said the Governmentwill "enforce payment more rigorously than in the past".
Another proposal is to create a specific body to chase "old debts andclose cases". In cases where maintenance cannot be deducted from aparent's earnings, this new body will force them to sell their homes inorder to collect the money owed.
MP David Laws, the Liberal Democrats' work and pensions spokesman,called the proposed system and the planned sanctions "rebranding,further delay and more gimmicks" and pointed out that existing measuressuch as withdrawing driving licenses are barely used. "Since 2005, wehave had one government review, one redesign and now we are offeredfurther consultation with no action until 2008," he said.
Confusion and uncertainty
The Conservative Party and Citizens Advice expressed concern that thenew proposals were just plunging families into further uncertainty. Oncethe CSA is dissolved, parents will be told to reapply as cases will notbe taken from the existing system to the new one. Shadow work andpensions secretary Philip Hammond said this meant families stuck in thecurrent system were being "effectively abandoned".
John Wheatley, senior policy officer at Citizens Advice, said parentswould be left with "a range of confusing choices" unless the Governmentgave them clear information as soon as possible. "People already in thesystem need to know whether they should stay in or whether they have theoption to start again with the new scheme. Parents paying under the newrules will want to know if they can now switch."
Meanwhile John Baker, chairman of Families Need Fathers, labelled theproposals as "not helpful at all". He added: "A good proportion ofso-called feckless fathers, who don't pay maintenance, would happily doso if they were allowed to have a relationship with their children."
As yet the Department for Work and Pensions has not disclosed how muchthe new changes will cost. A spokeswoman said: "There is still a lot ofdetail that has to be worked out and we will be publishing a white paperin the autumn."
The new body would operate across the whole of the UK.
- www.dwp.gov.uk
KEY POINTS
- Maintenance debt accumulated since 1993 stands at 3.5bn
- The Child Support Agency currently has a backlog of 330,000 cases
- The Child Support Agency currently costs the taxpayer 200m a
year
