The Child Support Agency (CSA) has become synonymous with failure. The agency has a case backlog of 350,000, they succeed in collecting even nominal money from only 70% of those owing maintenance, and the number of public complaints has risen by 30% in the last year to 63,678. Indeed, the CSA failed five of its seven performance targets.
Speaking to the Work and Pensions Committee last week, John Hutton, the new Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, called for the CSA to toughen its treatment of errant fathers. Whilst Blair went on to defend the CSA, arguing that its failures were largely due to structural flaws, Hutton argued that the agency simply needed to get more aggressive. From Blunkett’s speech at the Labour Party conference this year, the DWP had been planning to up child support enforcement for a while. However, Hutton appears to be taking a stronger line than Blunkett was proposing.
The question is how can this ‘stepping up to the plate’ - as Hutton put it – be put into practice? Whilst collecting maintenance from errant parents is not always a clear-cut task, there has been a tendency to overplay the complexities in the process. In its current state, the agency is quite simply sloppy, providing many avoidable opportunities for unscrupulous fathers to flee responsibility, and unscrupulous mothers to misname fathers. At present, only 1 in 3 absent fathers approached by the CSA contribute any money at all to child support and 1 in 6 of these fathers are paying for children not biologically theirs. Two key malfunctions which, in the majority of cases, could be easily solved.
In Hutton’s own words: “…parents who are not living with their children…should pay for their kids”. In an age where scientific technology is as accessible as it is, DNA paternity testing must become mandatory. Well-publicised cases of men discovering they have needlessly been paying child support are not only displays of injustice, they also undermine the credibility of the entire enforcement process. Equally, payment must move away from placing power in the hands of fathers, reliant on honest income declarations; as Frank Field proposed to the Commons Work and Pensions Committee, child support should be collected through the existing PAYE channel, simply by adjusting the tax code. This method would also allow payments to be fairly calculated according to income.
It is imperative that ‘making a child’ comes to mean supporting a child, in this country. This will not only mitigate the poverty experienced by the majority of lone parents in the UK, but also, according to recent evidence, shrink the number of children born outside wedlock.
Not surprisingly, parents who never entered a stable relationship generate the majority of the CSA’s ‘difficult’ workload; previously married non-resident parents are five times more likely to comply. Research at the University of Washington suggests that tough child support enforcement can lower rates of births outside marriage. In the study, ‘The Impact of Child Support Enforcement Policy on Non-marital Childbearing’ Plotnick et al showed that the stricter a state's child-support laws, the lower its lone-parenthood rate. The authors argue that policies which shift more costs of non-marital childbearing to men reduce non-marital childbearing.
When its child welfare at stake, it is unthinkable that the government should not employ all its powers to ensure the best outcomes. As the new minister for Work and Pensions declares an end to ‘pussyfooting’ around irresponsible fathers, let’s hope he’s willing to put his policy where his mouth is.
Comments (25)
the problem with CSA is its a chemical policy thats got no flexiblabilty to meet individual needs, for example i have my kids every two weeks, i pay my sons gym fees, my daughters dance classes and take them three time a week to these activities, i have taken my children on holiday every year since my split with the ex, my ex doesnt work as never taken the kids on holiday since we split and sits at home getting 312 per month from me, i have bought clothes etc for my children and paid for my sons college fess not to mention trips at school etc, how fair is it that the policy of the CSA can take such large amounts of money and effect the quality of the kids lifes with thier fathers and always favours the mother in most circumstances, this stinks and when you speak with the officers well thier just not bothered just doing a job, what is this country coming to, i could understand if i was a not bothered father but i love my children dearly and i am happy to pay a fair amount agreed mutually so as to not to compromise my quality of life with my children, i recently becam unemployed and was releifed that i didnt had to pay this amount as i just could not afford it, im a manager but will now not take a job at that level because i just cant afford the costs impossed on me by this evil governmental process called the CSA, politiacians should be really proud of the impact they are having on hundreds of concerned fathers in the uk, someone must do something about this,
sorry about the spelling,
andy evans
Posted by andrew evans | December 1, 2008 11:15 AM
Posted on December 1, 2008 11:15
I am the partner of a csa victim, i have 3 children of my own and this christmas i will not be able to afford to give them anything. My partner , who has been seperated from his wife for over 6 years and has 2 children one 18 and the other 21 both earning more than me, is having to pay arrears to the csa of £760 in December, £760 in Jan and £560 in Feb. My partner is so stressed he is talking about suicide as he feels he cannot provide for me and my children because of this. His ex wife has just left her partner and received a large sum of money so has bought her own house, furnished it and is going abroad for christmas. Neither my partner or myself earn very much money but the deduction of earnings order states that if he is left with £0 then that is the case. I may as well send my wages in an envelope directly to her house explaining that whilst she is sunning herself my kids are going without.
I wouldnt mind but when she left my partner she abandoned her 2 kids and left them with him to bring up for 4 years, in that time he tried to put in a claim with the csa to get money from her but it took that long she had come back, gone to court and abducted them back from him so alas no payments were made. We have asked about counter claiming but they are not interested and say it is a seperate issue (of course they are going to drag their feet).
I am so ill with the stress and i fear for my partners sanity and life at the moment! sometimes i think my only option is for us to seperate but what a sad sad reason to end a loving happy relationship to a man my kids adore.
Advice please......
Posted by Caroline Rigby | November 14, 2008 5:03 PM
Posted on November 14, 2008 17:03
The csa claims that my partner owes them over £2000 plus in arreas my partner strongly denies owing anything due to the fact that his ex partner put the claim in at least 2 years before they seperated therefore the claim should be void. He has evidence to back this but they dont want to take that on board. 2 years ago they decided to place a deductions from earnings order on him in which he had to give up employment as the amount being deducted left us with only £10 a week to live on for food bills etc sometimes the children couldnt go to school as we just didnt have the bus fair to send them yet the CSA claim they want to cut poverty but we,re quite happy to leave a family of 7 in servere poverty! This had an emotional and financal effect upon our family which almost split our family up. So 2 years ago we decided that i should go to work part time to try and make ends meet i believe that the stress caused me to go into premiture labour with our little girl the impact that the CSA have had upon us has been so servere that i am now off work myself on sick due to the stress which is having a negative impact upon my mental wellbeing also my physcial wellbeing. My partner isnt refusing to pay towards his child just the arreas. To try and relieve the finacial stress i put a claim in against my ex partner but the CSA still havnt done anything about it apart from giving me excuses that they cant access my claim but they could when I claimed benefits for a short period but yet again when i resumed work they couldnt access my claim!! The CSA claim to be a non proffitable organization but clearly they have showed contrary!! So now my partner cant support his family at home nor his other child!!! How is this fair or right?? How can the GOVERNMENT keep getting away with this kind of behaviour? To me their no different to bunch of gangsters but they get away with it!!!
Posted by daisy green | September 21, 2008 9:20 AM
Posted on September 21, 2008 09:20
I was with a woman, and the relationship turned sour becuase of her drinking habbits. She became pregnant and tried everything to miscarry. She has been telling me that the baby isnt mine, and all her friends but still gave my name to CSA out of spite. The refused to listen to my arguement and are now taking a substantial cut of my wages. Im depressed about this and the only way is to take her to court, but she has threatened not to turn up, which I know she wont and I will be lfet with the bill. What can I do now?
Posted by Paul | July 5, 2008 2:26 AM
Posted on July 5, 2008 02:26
hi, i divorced the father of my daughter in 1996, in court it was settled that he would £300 per month. shortly after this decison he made the righetous decision ( no sarcasim intended of course !) by leaving employment, therefore no money was ever reclaimed. since then of course you discover that he is "doing well for himself", and you get on with your life. the reason why i remain somewhat angry with the british system is recently i have recieved notification from the tax cerdits to state that I have been overcharged and now need to pay back money, that clearly i haven't got, or i wouldn't have needed it in the first place ! the point is how can a man who has fathered a child walk the streets knowing he owes them ( to my calculations) over £40,000 ! yet the HMTax Credits can demand payment from me within 30 days time..... i work for childrens service and continually see more poverty on a daily basis and the consequences of absent fathers than most politicans see in there life time !.....Why should myself and my daughter pay back the fault of the tax credits as well as living with the fact that someone ( my daughters biological father) has made a clear choice not to pay for his child....there really is no justice....So... Go and get the money of from him and then come and see me !
Posted by Lisa | July 2, 2008 3:23 PM
Posted on July 2, 2008 15:23
Hi, I posted below this. Here is my update.
Glad to say i have got all my money back off the csa now, there were a few problems they said which made it take a little longer than expected. But all in all it took about 3-4 month to sort it out.
The staff seemed a lot better in these departments than when i dealt with the csa, all my queries where answered well and dealt with.
Hope this helps anyone in the same situation.
Posted by Carl C | March 27, 2008 5:51 PM
Posted on March 27, 2008 17:51
i have been paying csa for the last 6 years without fail i have it stopped out of my wages i have two children age 16,18 i am paying £135.00 a week my wages are £300.00 a week i cannot get nothing done about the amount i pay so just pay it..my eldest child is enrolled at college but not attending is working full time !! my youngest is finishing college in june ..wheres the justice for hard working paying fathers ??
Posted by robert mckenzie | March 25, 2008 11:41 AM
Posted on March 25, 2008 11:41
I had a woman tell me she was pregnant with my baby, I didn't believe her so I asked for DNA tests.
Her reply was CSA, £191 a month. I was shocked at this and asked for DNA.
Over year later I get the results, and as I suspected the child was not mine. I've spoke to CSA and they want to interview her before they stop the deduct of earnings, which is a little out of order, but i'm a patient man, just hope I get all the money back I was made to pay.
Will update as I know more.
Posted by Carl C | December 10, 2007 9:41 PM
Posted on December 10, 2007 21:41
i am supposedly a father to 2 children i am not on the birth certificates and i was not in a relationship with this women. she was sleeping with other people. yet she has got incontact with the csa and told them i am the father. they are wanting £56 a week and she only claiming for one of the children. when the child was first born i was taking her to court for parental rights yet it didnt even get into court. because i have no legal rights as a father as i am not on birth certificate. so why should i pay csa. the mother of the children will not let me have dna tests done. i dont know what else to do. i have my own family now and i will not be able to support them. i am a serving soldier and have had to sign off and leave my career. if anyone can help please do.
Posted by james | May 11, 2007 5:33 PM
Posted on May 11, 2007 17:33
iam in a simular situation previously made homless by silly amounts of csa then changed jobs to better my life and my new family and then csa change there payment to 40% of my wage i earn to much for legal aid but as my ex left me in so much debt i cant get credit i have £4000 worth of arrears which they cant prove as they have no idea what i have paid yet she has to say no i didn't pay and thats fine i have already lost £28,000 because of her and now they want £481 pound a month when previous payments were only £42
i am now forced into the situation where as there is no point in my working.
she left me to live with someone else and now she wants to take more away from me i would be better off dead!!!!!!
Posted by steven | April 29, 2007 6:53 PM
Posted on April 29, 2007 18:53
I brought up two of our children single handed whilst the third lived with the mother. Csa demanded payments in favour of the third child from me but didn't think I was eligible for payments myself from the mother. I now find out that the third child for whom I had paid almost £4000 for was not mine (a fact that the mother freely admits to having known from conception) but because the case has been 'closed' I am not going to be refunded. Wrote to my MP - tea and sympathy but didn't even suggest approaching the parliamentary ombudsman - not a vote winner I suppose. Mother even nows who the real father is.
Trying to work out what to do next. I am determined to get my money back
Posted by Larry | April 13, 2007 1:00 PM
Posted on April 13, 2007 13:00
My ex has just given birth to a girl which is quite likely to be mine. I only knew her for 4 weeks before she was pregnant. It was both of our faults if it is mine. I want a dna test anyway. Her and her family are all Swiss, which probably means that if she wanted to she can (and almost definitely will in 3 or 4 years) move back home.
I don't speak German, and don't want to either. And I certainly don't want to live in Switzerland. And I definitely don't want to form an emotional attatchment to a child that will be taken away from me at any time. Not to mention being soley responsible for financial support.
I haven't got my name on the birth certificate yet. She wants me to put it on. I will if it's mine.
She's also threatening to restrict access on grounds of my character, but there's no substance to any kind of accusation she could make. She's just angry because she wants me to fork out for a kid that I didn't want, and then make my life as difficult as she can.
I'm very aware that when you have sex with someone you should be careful, and we weren't, so you get what you get. But if the mother is going to act like that it's extremely unfair to expect financial support from a would be father that's ejected from the relationship with his daughter.
To anyone with experience in this kind of thing, I would be grateful for any comments.
Posted by anon | April 12, 2007 1:34 PM
Posted on April 12, 2007 13:34
The csa have just advised me that the arrears on my 'account' caused by their delay in setting up a payment plan now means I have a debt of 5k and they want it paid before they close down so have added £80 to my monthly charge. They refused to negotiate on the amount eeven though I can prove I cannot afford the new level of payment. They have basically told me they don't care if my new wife, our 4month old child and I are made homeless as a result of it.....where is the human rights in all this?
Posted by Anonymous | March 1, 2007 1:55 PM
Posted on March 1, 2007 13:55
My ex wife has moved in with her lover (after having an affair with him behind my back for some time). Both parties are on an excellent salary between them) and I am a disabled self-employed but very self sufficient decent guy trying to earn an honest living. My ex has not only managed to apply for custody of our son and won, had a considerable payoff from myself and incidently tried to pilfer the money I received from my accident. She has now applied for CSA of which she clearly stated in the court order that she would not apply for due to the generous payment bequeathed to her.
Posted by lynn hoare | February 5, 2007 5:34 PM
Posted on February 5, 2007 17:34
Absent Fathers, Single Mothers, what about the guy that has been used by his ex as a career stepping stone. He has to start again he wants to treat his kids but is not well paid and has to pay the CSA. She has moved in with a new partner & both are on a very good income. Why should the father be robbed of paying for luxuries with the kids and have to pay his ex who is on enough anyway and the kids will not see this cash. Yes track fathers who disappear and leave mothers on a small wage or benefit but there is no modification for poor fathers & afluent mothers whom wish to stick the knife in.
Posted by MR T | January 25, 2007 9:46 PM
Posted on January 25, 2007 21:46
i am currently in the position of having a deduction of earnings order put on me i have rang CSA to many times asking 4 a DNA test to which i get the reply of Im on the birth certificate so Im the father but i only have a 5% fertility rate and dont think the child is mine. I have been told to pay £73 a week for one child out of my earnings. so as Im applying to the courts and waiting 4 a test what happen. How can this happen when the CSA write to you asking how do you want pay for the DNA test, then they send you a letter they don’t need the test……can anyone help me please
Posted by Nathan Gardner | December 18, 2006 2:16 PM
Posted on December 18, 2006 14:16
The csa made a calculation left it 2 years before informing me in which has now left me a bill of £2000+ i can now no longer work as i cant afford to because the csa we,re taking too much which left me and my present family of 6 £30 a week to live on to get food gas electric nappies etc is there anyone that can help me with this????????
Posted by stephen james | December 9, 2006 8:55 AM
Posted on December 9, 2006 08:55
why don't the goverment get men to pay the family allowance more men like myself would be willing to pay that than the hundreds of pounds a week that the csa are trying to get out of men. They should also take in to account each individual case, i wasn't the one unfaithful in the relationship yet i'm the one who still has to pay. The way its going it will be cheaper for me to buy a rope.
Posted by john | November 30, 2006 7:33 PM
Posted on November 30, 2006 19:33
i have been paying my child support every month with out fail for the past 6 years by standing order to my ex wife but just recently the csa with out my prior knowledge or consent took £431.52p direct from my employers because they thought i had not made any payments this has left me in a very difficult possition as i never had enough money to pay certian bills as a result of this my bank has charged me sevral times because of insuficiant funds in my account the csa have told me that they dont know where the money is as it is lost in there system so they are not sure when i will get my money back if any one can help me out with some good advice i would be very greatfull
Posted by daniel cridland | October 31, 2006 9:50 AM
Posted on October 31, 2006 09:50
I am currently being bullied for a DNA test for a child that is not mine. Im NOT having the test and I will not be bullied by the CSA. The child is not mine full stop and the mother in question is just taking part in a vendetta by my ex-girlfriend. Even if the child was mine you would think that there was something in the law to protect a father from not being told for 15 years that he had a child ? I dont work I have no money and the CSA can go to hell, its about time men in this country had some legal rights.
Posted by Paul | May 17, 2006 2:29 PM
Posted on May 17, 2006 14:29
I WAS BULLIED BY THE CSA into having a DNA test, which I had to pay for, for a child that I knew was not mine. The test came back negative but I cannot get my money back. I have writen and phoned but nothing seems to work .
Rob
Posted by ROBERT GRAY | March 25, 2006 11:12 PM
Posted on March 25, 2006 23:12
I wondered whether the man listed as HJ, who posted a comment above could get in touch with me? We are trying to find a father to feature in a documentary about paternity testing for Channel Four. My email is eliya@wagtv.com. Thanks!
Posted by Eliya | February 21, 2006 6:47 PM
Posted on February 21, 2006 18:47
intresting reviews 1 in 6 biological father. my on going case. two DNA tests proved that the child is not mine. due to the incompertence staff at hastings not knowing procedures and giving false information to people they still ask for payments to be made. I have now got payments stopped but its cost me money becouse they belive what a women is telling the truth .but now the csa are making excuses not to refund the payments ive made for someone elses child. As this child has only known me since birth. its hard on both of us knowing the mother has lied to us both for years. My veiws are the csa should get DNA TESTS. DONE BEFORE ANY PAYMENTS are made by a suspected father.
Posted by paul | January 12, 2006 2:07 PM
Posted on January 12, 2006 14:07
I don't think it's true to say that "1 in 6 of these fathers are paying for children not biologically theirs".
I believe it's the case that of those fathers that questioned their paternity of the child in question, DNA evidence demonstrated that 1 in 6 were not the biological father. However, this is just 1 in 6 of those that questioned paternity, not one in six of all fathers. Only those that already have a doubt are likely to ask for the test.
Posted by HJ | November 29, 2005 3:16 PM
Posted on November 29, 2005 15:16
It is imperative that ‘making a child’ comes to mean supporting a child, in this country.
You would have to abolish child support laws to do that, since men never give birth to children that they can't support.
Posted by Frank O'Dwyer | November 28, 2005 8:54 PM
Posted on November 28, 2005 20:54