Tough new laws on parents who dodge paying child support could be on the way – but can they work and are they fair? MARK STEAD looks into an issue which cuts to the heart of broken families.


WHEN it comes to child support, most people agree on one thing – any parent who has a responsibility to pay it should do so.

In the face of too many absent parents evading their responsibilities and failing to pay maintenance, the Department for Work and Pensions has drawn up fresh plans to ensure those who bring up children on their own do not have to live through the anxiety of money worries.

Proposals contained in the Welfare Reform Bill suggest seizing the passports and driving licences of parents who refuse to pay child support – without them having to be taken to court – as new estimates claim the UK’s unpaid maintenance tally is edging £4 billion.

But while the Government says such a no-nonsense sanction would be “a last resort”, opponents fear it could put parents’ civil rights on the line. Due to the chaos which has enveloped the child support issue over the past decade, such moves could merely lead to those who are already struggling to meet their payments being unfairly treated, while the real maintenance-dodgers sneak under the radar.

Before being abolished and replaced, the Child Support Agency (CSA) was able to confiscate the driving licences of non-payers, but had to apply for a court order to do so. Its successor, the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission (CMEC), was last year given the power to do the same with passports.

If the new legislation is passed, CMEC would be able to bypass the courts and seize these vital documents until the money is paid in full, with the Government arguing this would be “faster, simpler and easier for the taxpayer”.

Single mother Allison Dodd, 37, of Clifton Moor, York – who has two children; Scott 11, and three-year-old Louis – agrees, saying: “The idea is a fair one – why should people get away with not paying the support they should be paying for their children?

“I think this happens a lot, leaving some single parents unable to even go on holiday because they can’t afford it. Many parents take their responsibilities seriously, but many don’t pay simply because they don’t want to. It would have been very difficult for me to manage if I hadn’t been getting these payments.

“Introducing this would make those parents who don’t pay sit up and take notice.”

Work and Pensions Secretary James Purnell says the proposals have emerged from the need not to “stand by and do nothing” about those who “choose not to support their own kids”.

Coun Carol Runciman, City of York Council’s executive member for children’s services, doubts whether it would wipe away at a stroke the problems of policing child support payments.

“It’s very important that the Government gets the entire system right and we need evidence these proposals will solve the problems which have been apparent in the past,” she says.

“The problem with removing driving licences is that this might be the way many parents earn a living. Some may have second families to support and some might actually be the conscientious ones who do want to pay.

“There are parents who don’t want to take the responsibility or don’t even know they have children, and that is where the biggest problem lies. However, I have concerns this move could be counter-productive towards conscientious parents.”

Meanwhile, as far as Vale of York Tory MP Anne McIntosh is concerned, such moves could throw another hand grenade into an already potentially explosive situation.

“The problem comes when we are talking about parents who cannot pay – there is a risk it could cause them unnecessary hardship, particularly in rural areas,” she says.

“Where that is the case, we need to look at a voluntary system of bringing the parents together in a less adversarial and more consensual situation.

“More of the carrot and less of the stick has to be the best way forward.

“Maybe there is a role for such a radical move where those who will not pay are concerned, but it must not apply to those experiencing genuine hardship.”

So tough talking is one thing; a child support network which really works is quite another. And it seems clear shaken faith in the system will not be easily restored.


* “PUNITIVE and draconian” – that’s how York legal expert Mark Day describes the Government’s plans to snatch passports and driving licences away from non-payers of child support.

As the head of the family law department at Langleys solicitors, and a member of the National Family Lawyers organisation Resolution, he has seen the pain of splintered homes many times.

He believes the legacy of failure surrounding the UK’s child support system must be addressed before measures such as those outlined by the Department of Work and Pensions can be considered.

“I support the Government’s aim that all parents should meet the pastoral and financial responsibilities towards their children,” he says.

“But the problems with the administration of child support in this country, which has been riddled with errors and bureaucratic failures, means more emphasis should be placed on fixing the system.

“Until it is running smoothly and has public confidence, there can be no justification for not allowing a right to challenge such a punitive and draconian measure through the courts.

“When families break down, it effectively splits one household into two and places a tremendous strain on parents, especially in such harsh economic times.

“If we are stuck in bureaucratic child support arrangements, it is going to take significant time to resolve them, and I believe introducing a measure like this would be a step too far.”

Matt O’Connor, founder of the Fathers 4 Justice pressure group – which gained notoriety for a string of stunts in protest at what they claim is the victimisation of fathers – simply claims: “It won’t work.”

He says: “It does not deal with the core of the problem, which is to make sure both sets of parents are fully engaged in the upbringing of their children. The Government sees fathers as an optional extra or a cashpoint, nothing more, and until that mentality changes, these problems will not be addressed.

“The only way the system will work is with a complete overhaul of the family law system so all parents accept their responsibilities. Nobody will win from this proposal.”