Great Idea abused and rendered useless

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.

One must assume that as we have had cases of people "topping" themselves, that the cases referred to in this statement are those that they cannot catch, or more likely, those who pack in their jobs to avoid paying. Please bear in mind when it first came to the publics eye it was the assessments that were wrong, taking well over half to two thirds of the former partners wages in some cases. Meaning a person was allowed to earn £57.00 for themselves the rest of their money went towards paying the assessment, and as the assessing took so long massive arrears were accumulating, taking even more of the ex-partners money!

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 new agency will have new powers!

CMEC POWERS (This will replace the CSA)
(Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission)
Seize driving licences
Order curfews Try telling a thirty year old he cant go out.. will not work
Access money directly The government is mistaken they do not have this power!
Encourage parents to make own arrangements Through the courts as they had to before!

"The truth of the matter is, whatever reforms we have put into the Child Support Agency, they have not worked," he said.

Basically, too much red tape, as per usual, strangles any chance of civil servants getting on with their jobs,( by civil servants I mean the frontline staff), who actually have to deal with "the customers". But then the worst people to make laws and legislations are lawyers, who have no idea how the real world works.

"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."


Firstly, yes to Herr Blair, these are small amounts of money, sometimes as little as £120.00 per month, as the ex partner is on low wages. Financial hardship is often what forces these relationships to break down. The constant "robbing peter to pay paul", that is a big part of the lower paids couples struggle through life. A struggle that has only the hope, that one day all will be well, that they can get through these hard times.

Secondly, "where the mother often doesn't want that to happen either", suggests that they dont care! This is very very often not true, sometimes they are frightened to give details for fear of reprisals and sometimes, just sometimes they resent that monies supposedly for the "child" is stolen by the government, to offset money paid by the state in Income support.

As is becoming more and more evident by the actions of this deluded government that we allow to rule us, they are "not fit for purpose", they do not have the capability to do the job! The sooner they are out the better!!!