DWP announce draconian measures on enforcement of Child Maintenance
12th July 2018 - for immediate release
DWP announce draconian measures on enforcement of Child Maintenance without a proper understanding of the problems
DWP have acknowledge that “issues exist” in the current Child Maintenance formula that they are “considering further”, but have not completed an investigation first
In failing to investigate properly before introducing these measures many paying parents will be put into deep poverty and some will contemplate suicide
The CMS formula itself is primitive and unworkable in many cases. Many parents, mostly dads, feel bullied and are driven out of work and into despair
The Government’s new Child Maintenance and Arrears Strategy published today proposes write off much of the £4bn of Child Maintenance arrears is right, pragmatic and welcomed. The vast majority of such arrears were accumulated over a quarter of a century and are for relatively tiny amounts. Many of those assessed simply did not have the money to pay it at the time. Most cases of arrears have arisen largely because of:
- Incorrect calculations by the discredited scrapped Child Support Agency (CSA)
- Fundamental flaws in the calculation making payments unaffordable and discouraging work
- A failure to address issues around shared parenting arrangements
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