Tougher replacement for CSA proposed

New agency could see fathers named and shamed for repeated non-payment

News, 25 July 2006

A new, much tougher replacement for the Child Support Agency could see fathers named and shamed for not meeting child maintenance payments.

Work and Pensions Secretary John Hutton announced to MPs yesterday that the government proposes a slimmed down system with separating parents being encouraged to reach their own financial agreements.

The proposals aim to end the administrative failures which have continually blighted the CSA since its inception in 1993. Despite having over £500 million spent on reforming it already, the organisation currently has a backlog of 300,000 cases and £3 billion in arrears to collect.

In an effort to reduce the arrears, Mr Hutton confirmed the announcement earlier this year that private debt collectors will be used to pursue non-payers. He also announced that in addition to the current power to confiscate driving licences, defaulters could lose their passports and be subjected to curfews and electronic tagging.

The "name and shame" proposal would see those who repeatedly fail to make payments identified through the media and possibly the DWP's website.

The government is also considering compelling fathers to register as parents on the birth of a child, unless the mother deliberately chooses not to reveal the father's identity.

Opposition parties questioned whether the CSA was simply being rebranded under another name.