Paul Hunt, family partner at Kirwans Solicitors, on concerns regarding the wider powers proposed for child maintenance enforcement:

Proposed changes to the way that the Child Support Agency (CSA) and its successor, the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission (CMEC), collect child maintenance payments are causing concern among legal professionals.

If they are given the go-ahead, the changes currently under discussion mean that the CSA and CMEC will be able to exercise statutory powers to secure payment of maintenance without first making an application to the court. This would include the ability to make an order for regular deductions from income without the need to apply to the courts for an Attachment Order, which had previously been required.

A Bill currently being debated in Parliament will also give civil servants the power to confiscate driving licenses or passports of individuals who are believed to be in arrears with their child support payments.

Undoubtedly, these measures are a response to the frustration expressed by those who have struggled for years to extract child support payments from absent parents. Much has been said about the CSA’s apparent inability to enforce payment of maintenance particularly from those who are not “easy targets” such as those who are self-employed or who change jobs frequently.

There is however also a general lack of confidence in the ability of government departments to deal with the huge administrative issues that surround operating systems such as child support and child tax credits.

Until there can be absolute confidence that serious mistakes will not be made, it is a matter of some concern that draconian measures could be taken against individuals by a government department without the authorisation of the courts, and in circumstances in which it is quite conceivable that mistakes could be made.

Paul Hunt, family partner at Kirwans Solicitors, on concerns regarding the wider powers proposed for child maintenance enforcement:

Proposed changes to the way that the Child Support Agency (CSA) and its successor, the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission (CMEC), collect child maintenance payments are causing concern among legal professionals.

If they are given the go-ahead, the changes currently under discussion mean that the CSA and CMEC will be able to exercise statutory powers to secure payment of maintenance without first making an application to the court. This would include the ability to make an order for regular deductions from income without the need to apply to the courts for an Attachment Order, which had previously been required.

A Bill currently being debated in Parliament will also give civil servants the power to confiscate driving licenses or passports of individuals who are believed to be in arrears with their child support payments.

Undoubtedly, these measures are a response to the frustration expressed by those who have struggled for years to extract child support payments from absent parents. Much has been said about the CSA’s apparent inability to enforce payment of maintenance particularly from those who are not “easy targets” such as those who are self-employed or who change jobs frequently.

There is however also a general lack of confidence in the ability of government departments to deal with the huge administrative issues that surround operating systems such as child support and child tax credits.

Until there can be absolute confidence that serious mistakes will not be made, it is a matter of some concern that draconian measures could be taken against individuals by a government department without the authorisation of the courts, and in circumstances in which it is quite conceivable that mistakes could be made.