The Child Support Agency (CSA) has a chequered history - in June 2008 the government unveiled plans to overhaul the system.
Since the 1990s the CSA has faced overwhelming problems that have continuously hit the headlines. The CSA’s objective was to reduce child poverty and make non-resident parents financially responsible for their children. The task was far more complex than anticipated and the staff and IT systems were unable to cope with the huge workload. Many absentee parents slipped through the net.
In 2003 there was a glimmer of hope for lone parents when the government introduced a simplified formula for calculating maintenance payments and invested £450 million in a state of the art computer. Despite this, securing regular maintenance payments through the CSA continues to be fraught with difficulty and in some cases, frankly impossible.
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has recently announced a ‘radical new approach’ to child maintenance which is to be operated under the umbrella of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission (CMEC). The emphasis has changed and the clue is in the name. Where CSA lacked in powers of enforcement, CMEC intends to make up for it.
A non-resident non-paying parent will find that money is taken straight out of their wages. If that fails, CMEC will be able to pursue a debt without recourse to the courts and will use Debt Collection Agencies who will have extended powers of entry. In the pipeline are measures to confiscate passports and driving licences and the introduction of curfews and tagging. Furthermore, they may find their details publicly published. This name and shame policy is still under discussion but is operational in some states of America where it has had success.
Another area of change is the amount of maintenance payable. The CSA calculates payments on a percentage of the absent parent’s net weekly income. For example, an absent parent pays 15% of their net weekly income for one child, 20% for 2 and 25% for 3 or more. This is reduced by 1/7 for each night of the week that the child or children stay with the absent parent.
CMEC has not managed to simplify this formula but has changed the basis of the percentage depending on whether the absent parent falls into an earning bracket of under £800 per week gross or between £800 and £3,000 per week gross. Any income in excess of £3,000 per week is disregarded and those that earn less that £100 per week gross will have to pay a flat rate of £7 per week. The percentages differ in each bracket. For example, a non-resident parent who earns £30,000 gross per year and has two children will pay 16% of their gross weekly salary (£92 per week). Under the CSA regime the same parent would have paid £86.50 per week.
In the wake of the CSA, CMEC has a huge task ahead mopping up mistakes and managing the estimated £3 billion debt. As family lawyers, we are preparing for these reforms which are being implemented in 2010-11. We will always encourage and help parents to make their own arrangements for child maintenance but where that is not possible we can advise on how CMEC and the new rates of maintenance will affect you now.
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