Children to lose out in child maintenance reforms

Millions of pounds for children will be lost in the government’s shake-up of the child maintenance system warns Gingerbread, as new DWP data reveals that 100,000 parents are expected to drop out of the system and stop getting child maintenance altogether.

According to Gingerbread, all single parent families who currently use the Child Support Agency (CSA) will face closure of their cases from 2014, with potentially millions lost in payments for their children as a result:

• 100,000 single parents who currently get payments for their child are expected to go without rather than reapply to the new system – resulting in at least £26m lost to children each year.
• 185,000 families currently using the CSA are predicted to come to their own arrangement in future rather than face charges for using the new service – but the government does not know whether children will be worse or better off as a result.
• If parents reapply to the new system, no regard will be given to the history of parents’ failure to pay maintenance – all parents, even serial non-payers, will be given a “fresh chance” to pay their ex-partner direct, creating great financial uncertainty for single parent families managing on precarious budgets.
• Upfront and on-going charges will take at least £700 million from single parent families who need to use the new Child Maintenance Service to secure child maintenance.