Child Support Agency
The government is considering further changes to the Child Support Agency (CSA) - which spends 50p on administration charges - for every £1 it collects.
The latest collection figures confirm that while £1.1 billion in maintenance reaches parents and their children every year - the CSA still spends £572 million on collecting this money.
In addition a massive £3.8 billion owed by absent parents has gone uncollected - £2.8 billion of which is unlikely ever to be traced for a variety of reasons - including that some parents have literally 'died' waiting for their money.
I can speak personally about the CSA - because many years ago the Agency was supposed to be acting on my behalf - in relation to child support.
But I can honestly say that it was the most incompetent, inefficient and useless organisation - that I have ever had the misfortune to come across.
In the end I recovered the financial support that was due - which was unusual because as a father I was the designated 'parent with care' - whereas most clients of the CSA are mothers.
During the process I almost lost the will to live - with the endless delays, excuses and apologies - when all I really wanted was for someone to get their finger out - and provide me with a service.
So I continue to follow closely the fortunes of the CSA to this day - and I feel for anyone who is unlucky enough to be caught up in the system - which was allegedly reformed in 2008, i.e. after my unfortunate experience.
Yet despite these reforms it's clear that many parents and their children - hundreds of thousands of them - are still being let down by the Child Support Agency.
A recent House of Commons report confirms that 142,300 absent parents repeatedly refuse to pay maintenance for their children – a figure that has increased since 2008.
In 2008 the CSA was given tough new powers to penalise parents who repeatedly failed to pay - including taking money direct from bank accounts and seizing property.
A string of other powers widely used in countries like the USA – including curfew orders and seizure of passports and driving licences – has still to be introduced.
Seems to me the CSA is a failing organisation - and has been for a long time.
So the thing to do is to stop tinkering with it at the margins - and put people in charge who are fully committed to getting the job done.
The latest collection figures confirm that while £1.1 billion in maintenance reaches parents and their children every year - the CSA still spends £572 million on collecting this money.
In addition a massive £3.8 billion owed by absent parents has gone uncollected - £2.8 billion of which is unlikely ever to be traced for a variety of reasons - including that some parents have literally 'died' waiting for their money.
I can speak personally about the CSA - because many years ago the Agency was supposed to be acting on my behalf - in relation to child support.
But I can honestly say that it was the most incompetent, inefficient and useless organisation - that I have ever had the misfortune to come across.
In the end I recovered the financial support that was due - which was unusual because as a father I was the designated 'parent with care' - whereas most clients of the CSA are mothers.
During the process I almost lost the will to live - with the endless delays, excuses and apologies - when all I really wanted was for someone to get their finger out - and provide me with a service.
So I continue to follow closely the fortunes of the CSA to this day - and I feel for anyone who is unlucky enough to be caught up in the system - which was allegedly reformed in 2008, i.e. after my unfortunate experience.
Yet despite these reforms it's clear that many parents and their children - hundreds of thousands of them - are still being let down by the Child Support Agency.
A recent House of Commons report confirms that 142,300 absent parents repeatedly refuse to pay maintenance for their children – a figure that has increased since 2008.
In 2008 the CSA was given tough new powers to penalise parents who repeatedly failed to pay - including taking money direct from bank accounts and seizing property.
A string of other powers widely used in countries like the USA – including curfew orders and seizure of passports and driving licences – has still to be introduced.
Seems to me the CSA is a failing organisation - and has been for a long time.
So the thing to do is to stop tinkering with it at the margins - and put people in charge who are fully committed to getting the job done.
