Lords warn child maintenance charges are ‘unjustified in principle’

Plans to start charging parents who need to use the new Child Maintenance Service have been passed by the UK Parliament, despite a warning from former Lord Chancellor Lord Mackay that the charges for single parents were ‘unjustified in principle’.

Single parent charity Gingerbread has warned that the new regulations will lead to the closure of all CSA cases over the next three years and fees for parents who need to use the new Child Maintenance Service (CMS).

During the House of Lords debate on the changes, Lord Kirkwood warned that: “…condemning people to pay fees is contrary to natural justice, bad policy, and worst of all, inimical to the interests of the long-term future of many of our impoverished children.”

He added that he did not believe it was realistic that the new charges would result in parents collaborating to come to a child maintenance agreement, saying: “This whole policy is built on sand.”

Gingerbread Chief Executive Fiona Weir said: “It is deeply disappointing that the concerns of distinguished peers from all parties, and of course of single parents themselves, have been swept aside by Government. Hundreds of thousands of parents will now face case closure and charges over the next few years.

“We are very concerned about the impact on children, for whom child maintenance is vital. The charges will bring added financial burdens to many single parent families who are already struggling, and pressure others into unstable private arrangements.”

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