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| Passport threat to absent parents | |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| Absent parents who fail to make their maintenance payments could have their passports and driving licences confiscated under new government plans. | |
| The powers would be available to a proposed new Child Maintenance and Enforcement Agency to replace the failed Child Support Agency (CSA). | |
| Work and Pensions Secretary John Hutton will publish a White Paper detailing the role of the new department later. | |
| It was announced in July that the CSA would be scrapped. | |
| The agency oversees child maintenance payments between estranged parents. | |
| Set up in 1993, the CSA has struggled to keep up with a huge backlog of payments and has been unable to force reluctant parents to pay up. | Set up in 1993, the CSA has struggled to keep up with a huge backlog of payments and has been unable to force reluctant parents to pay up. |
| An estimated £3.5bn pounds of maintenance payments are still outstanding and it is thought that £2bn may never be paid. | An estimated £3.5bn pounds of maintenance payments are still outstanding and it is thought that £2bn may never be paid. |
| Tough powers | |
| Mr Hutton said that, under the new plans, parents who fail to pay for their children's upkeep will be "named and shamed" on the internet. | Mr Hutton said that, under the new plans, parents who fail to pay for their children's upkeep will be "named and shamed" on the internet. |
| The White Paper is expected to detail tougher new powers for the new agency including the power to confiscate passports and other documents, without going to court. | |
| The truth of the matter is, whatever reforms we have put into the Child Support Agency, they have not worked Tony Blair | |
| Many couples will also be encouraged to make their own financial arrangements for their children. | |
| Prime Minister Tony Blair has said the new scheme will mean women on benefit will no longer have to go through the CSA for maintenance payments from absent fathers. | Prime Minister Tony Blair has said the new scheme will mean women on benefit will no longer have to go through the CSA for maintenance payments from absent fathers. |
| "The truth of the matter is, whatever reforms we have put into the Child Support Agency, they have not worked," he said. | "The truth of the matter is, whatever reforms we have put into the Child Support Agency, they have not worked," he said. |
| "It is extremely difficult when the agency is being asked to chase relatively small sums of money from people who don't want to pay in circumstances where the mother often doesn't want that to happen either." | "It is extremely difficult when the agency is being asked to chase relatively small sums of money from people who don't want to pay in circumstances where the mother often doesn't want that to happen either." |
| The Conservatives said it would be 2010 before a new system was in place, leaving 1.4 million families to deal with the CSA and its problems for more than three years. | The Conservatives said it would be 2010 before a new system was in place, leaving 1.4 million families to deal with the CSA and its problems for more than three years. |
| Tory spokesman Philip Hammond said: "The government can talk all it wants about enforcement, but unless it fixes the root cause of the problem, assessing an absent parent's income effectively, then it is simply building a house on sand." | Tory spokesman Philip Hammond said: "The government can talk all it wants about enforcement, but unless it fixes the root cause of the problem, assessing an absent parent's income effectively, then it is simply building a house on sand." |