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Passport threat to absent parents Tough new powers on child support
(about 6 hours later)
Absent parents who fail to make their maintenance payments could have their passports and driving licences confiscated under new government plans. A new body to enforce child maintenance will be able to dock wages and withdraw the passports of absent parents.
The powers would be available to a proposed new Child Maintenance and Enforcement Agency to replace the failed Child Support Agency (CSA). The power to impose curfews and confiscate driving licences will also be given to the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission from 2008.
Work and Pensions Secretary John Hutton will publish a White Paper detailing the role of the new department later. CMEC is replacing the failed Child Support Agency (CSA), although Work and Pensions Secretary John Hutton said its £3.5bn of debt will not be written off.
The White Paper sets out the naming of shaming of some parents.
Those who have had successful court action taken against them will be displayed on a website.
Many couples will also be encouraged to make their own financial arrangements for their children.
Among the other controversial measures in the proposals is a plan to make it compulsory to have the father's name recorded on the birth certificate to help future enforcement.
The truth of the matter is, whatever reforms we have put into the Child Support Agency, they have not worked Tony Blair Send us your comments
Mr Hutton said: "The commission will be given extra powers to recover maintenance from those who repeatedly fail to pay.
"This will include the imposition of new curfews and the surrendering of passports, piloting mandatory withholding of wages as the first means of collecting maintenance and exploring the the financial services sector new powers to collect maintenance from accounts held by financial institutions.
"We will remove the requirement to apply to the courts for a liability order before taking enforcement action and we will take powers to recover debt from deceased estates.
"In future I expect CMEC will charge the non resident parent for its services and that we will publicise the names of non resident parents who are successfully prosecuted or have a successful application made against them in court".
Huge backlog
It was announced in July that the CSA would be scrapped.It was announced in July that the CSA would be scrapped.
The agency oversees child maintenance payments between estranged parents.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.
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.
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."