The Department for Work and Pensions last month published a white paperon the future of child maintenance.
The document outlines plans to replace the agency with a ChildMaintenance and Enforcement Commission, in an effort to ensure that moreparents take financial responsibility for their children.
The DWP also announced that, from 2010/11, it would "significantlyincrease the amount of maintenance that parents on benefit can keepbefore it affects the level of benefit they receive". Other proposalsinclude making parents give up their passport if they fail to pay.
The Child Poverty Action Group said that it was "disappointed" that thechanges would "come into force too late" to help achieve the aim ofhalving child poverty by 2010.
Chief executive Kate Green said: "Increasing the maintenance disregardwill get more help to families sooner and introduce an incentive tonon-resident parents to pay up, as they know it will go to theirchildren and not be recovered by the government."
But she added that parents "should not have to wait until 2010 for thischange - it should be introduced for the current system as soon aspossible".
