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Ribble Valley MP calls for reform of Child Support Agency

6:31pm Monday 7th December 2009 in


RIBBLE Valley’s MP has demanded a ‘wholesale reform’ of the Child Support Agency after a mum has fought for more than five years for payments for her son.

The 31-year-old woman from Clitheroe, who wants to remain anonymous, said that she was owed more than £6,000 in child support payments from her ex-partner.

She said: “I want him to pay what he is suppose to and it’s the CSA’s job to collect the debt but they just don’t seem concerned.

“This is money that my son is entitled to and the agency should be doing something to try and get it for him but they are such a shambles and need to get their act together.”

The women first started fighting for payments for her only son in 2004 and since then has only received one direct payment.

Now, MP Nigel Evans, has called for a complete overhaul of the CSA system.

He said: “This woman is not alone. I am inundated with new cases every week at my surgery’s. The system allows parents to abdicate from resposibility for their own children.

“The system is just too beauracratic and it is not hungry enough to track down some dads who just won’t pay.

“We need to have a proper debate on the workings of the CSA so that we can come forward with proper reforms that will affect everybody and be fair to everyone.”

The CSA is currently handling 1.2million cases of parents seeking payments for their children.

A spokesperson for the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission said: "A major overhaul of child maintenance is already underway which will see the Child Support Agency (CSA) eventually replaced over the next few years by an entirely new child maintenance system from 2011."

Comments(9)

happycyclist says...
6:43pm Mon 7 Dec 09

Nigel Evans has got a nerve calling for a complete overhaul of the CSA -most of us want a complete overhaul of the Government but we're not likely to see that.

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kat12 says...
9:31pm Mon 7 Dec 09

ive been after maintainance for my daughter since 1994 when she was 8 years old.now she is 23 and i have just started to get cheques for £20 each fortnight from the csa for moneys owed from the past.guess its going to be a while for me to get all that is owed.they make me laugh,i could of done with the money years ago.

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sackthegov says...
9:52pm Mon 7 Dec 09

On the flip side to this many fathers have overpaid maintenance because of errors on behalf of the CSA and after insisting on them doing a complete account breakdown we proved they had overcharged us by almost £1700 which we are still waiting to get it back! The breakdown showed payments made missed off their records! Nigel Evans MP has been involved in this case since last june - we just want whats ours back - ADVICE TO ALL PARENTS PAYING MAINTENANCE GET AN ACCOUNT BREAKDOWN DONE AND SEE WHAT THE CSA OWE YOU!

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pumagirl says...
11:18pm Mon 7 Dec 09

You're very lucky kat12 to be getting anything at all. I've been trying since July 1993 to get maintenance for my 3 children who were 11, 9 & 7 at the time. Obviously I'm not entitled to any money now, but it sure would have been nice to have had the money when needed. Mind you I still get letters telling me I will be paid monthly & when I talk to them they tell me that the letters are wrong as they have decided the arrears aren't worth collecting. Right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing me thinks.

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Come the Revolution says...
11:54pm Mon 7 Dec 09

Surely it's not rocket science. Take the child maintenance out of the PAYE at source, or, as is most likely, out of benefit payments at source.
Problem solved. Shut down the CSA & lots of money saved by the taxpayers.

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happycyclist says...
1:16pm Tue 8 Dec 09

Come the Revolution wrote:
Surely it's not rocket science. Take the child maintenance out of the PAYE at source, or, as is most likely, out of benefit payments at source.
Problem solved. Shut down the CSA & lots of money saved by the taxpayers.
I worked at the CSA some years ago and put the PAYE idea forward into the staff suggestion scheme. It got nowhere.
All they were after were suggestions like "make staff aware that they can print double-sided and save paper".

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pocketdragon says...
8:48pm Tue 8 Dec 09

This article and neither of the two commentors chasing/recieving CSA payments state whether or not the father actually sees the children or if he is absent from their lives.

You cannot possibly begin to sort this "problem" without knowing that fact.
In my opinion the CSA should be scrapped anyway, its a sham. It only has the worst effect on the fathers who dont deserve it and leaves them with next to no financial means to live let alone enjoy their childrens company.
In my experience its a form of abuse from former partners trying to get one over on good fathers. Most of the time its the benefit scrounging council estate scum mums that have no intention of getting jobs therefore making CSA income easy pickings. And whats more its these sort who dont even look after their kids properly despite the extra income.

This is the point of veiw from a mother who does not recieve CSA who believes that the fathers need the money to actually enjoy time spent with their children and is not better spent in the hands of the mother (who get more state help than enough). The fathers, funnily enough dont get any help from benefits, are usually subjected to vast solicitors and legal fees just trying to gain access and have living costs as everyone else does and also have to hand over money to the CSA....and that leaves nothing for them to spend on the child when they do see them. How is that fair?

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sackthegov says...
11:28pm Tue 8 Dec 09

In reply to Pocketdragon my husband DOES NOT get to see his child even though he pays regularly and has paid over £24,000 to date for one child with 6-8 years left to carry on paying - he has been through all courts 18 times to get to see his child and paid out £14,000+ in solicitors/court fees won 4 court orders in his favour and his ex broke everyone - he not seen his child for last 2 years and courts do nowt - she has 3 kids to 3 men (none ever seen there dads) and has been trying for a 4th with 4th man (and married another inbetween for money) - 4th man out of picture cos he wont have reversal op to get her pregnant and she now looking for next victim with a wallet! If CSA said any parent that withholds contact after it been ordered by court is not allowed maintenance payments kids would be turning up on their dads doorsteps everyweekend without a doubt as a lot - not all - only have kids for a meal ticket/house then use that poor kid as a pawn in a silly war to score points over an ex with no regard for that child - all to often children are born as women try to trap men for money the child is not born through love - the kids is then brought up seeing parents at war and 90% never get to see their other half of their family - born out of love for greed and you wonder why society is so sh*te at the moment and why no-one has any regard for anyone else - because there mothers are allowed to use them from day one! Its a disgrace - its a sad sad world when the money is more important than the child. I never received a penny off my ex for his two children and the benefit system did not support us then as they do now so I worked 3 part time jobs to keep my head above water - but I did it for my kids and my pride - not many new mums do that these days cos its all to easy on the dole........

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pocketdragon says...
10:43pm Thu 10 Dec 09

Sackthegov - You hit the nail on the head! Its always the fathers who do see or the ones that are prevented from seeing their children that end up paying CSA. That was the point i was trying to make, i just get so angry i forget to add those bits in! My partner was in the very same situation, thousands of pounds spent in legal fees getting absolutely nowhere (courts adjourning every time) and still being expected to keep up contact in the meantime aswell as paying CSA. I dont understand how CSA is justified if the father sees or is actively trying through the apparant one way legal system.
The only ones who dodge it are the ones who just disappear. Those are the ones who should pay.
Fathers who take responsibilty should only have the one expenditure, and that is the one spent on the child when the child ios in their care.
Maybe one day someone in government will see sense and get rid of the so-called maintainence system and put in place a proper and fair legal system which does not give mothers the right to call all the shots.

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