More than a third of parents fail to contribute towards child maintenance payments
Nearly 40% of parents who are supposed to contribute towards the upkeep of their children through the government-run child maintenance system are failing to make any payments.
Most parents owing maintenance arrange their own payments, but the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) created a scheme called Collect and Pay, which calculates how much maintenance is due and takes in the funds. It is often used by low-income parents who struggle to make payments.
Among the 164,500 non-resident parents who use the scheme, 37% paid no maintenance in the three months to March 2022 – the highest figure since mid-2018, and a marked rise since 26% failed to pay maintenance in the quarter to June 2021.
Only 43 percent of non-resident parents — those living away from their children — who use Collect & Pay made more than 90% of the payment they owed in the first quarter of 2022, down from 53% a year earlier.
Victoria Benson, chief executive of single-parents’ charity Gingerbread, said: “Research shows that 60% of single-parent families living in poverty and not receiving child maintenance would be able to escape the poverty trap if they were paid the money they’re owed. Parents have a legal and moral duty to contribute to their child’s upbringing whether they live with them or not, and where this money isn’t paid willingly the CMS needs to step in.
“Child maintenance simply cannot be seen as optional. The CMS needs to use its powers to stamp out persistent non-payment and ensure that no child experiences hardship or poverty because their non-resident parent won’t support them financially.
“It’s about time this government and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) took the issue of unpaid maintenance seriously. It’s shameful that so many
Read more on theguardian.com
