Single parent charity Gingerbread has commented on the release of new figures by the government that show there is at least £1 million of child maintenance arrears in each one of the 650 parliamentary constituencies.
Gingerbread’s Chief Executive, Fiona Weir, said: “These arrears have accumulated over many years. Not all of it will be collectable, sometimes for the simple reason that the parent liable to pay genuinely can’t afford it. But parents who are owed maintenance for their children need to know that the CSA has done all it can to enforce the responsibility to pay it.”
In just over a year’s time, all existing CSA cases will begin to be closed and parents will have to pay in future to have their child maintenance collected by the new Child Maintenance Service. Gingerbread is calling on the Government to do all it can to reduce the money owed to parents in the next year, so that these parents do not end up having to pay the new service to collect arrears that the CSA should have collected.
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Child maintenance arrears revealed
Additional funding to support separating families
The Government has announced that, as part of the restructuring of the child maintenance system, an extra £20 million will be made available to support families going through divorce or separation.
The money will help families work out their own arrangements, rather than trapping them in the current outdated system, which has been shown to be expensive and divisive and does not put children first.
A typical case in the Child Support Agency can cost the taxpayer around £25,000, rising to around £40,000 if enforcement action is needed. Many parents already share the care of their children and it is estimated that if those made their own arrangements for maintenance this could save the taxpayer £45m per year.
Iain Duncan Smith, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, said:
"This is about helping to put children first in what is a difficult and traumatic time for all concerned. Most parents want to come to arrangements with a minimal disruption to their children and by offering them the right support we can help make this the case.
"We need to radically re-think the support we provide to separating parents to place family responsibility and the welfare of children at its heart. Our plans to reform the child maintenance system will enable parents to come to their own family-based arrangements which work far better for children."