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| Version 4 | Version 5 |
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| Website to 'shame' absent parents | Website to 'shame' absent parents |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Ministers are planning to publish on the internet the names of absent parents who refuse to pay maintenance for their children. | Ministers are planning to publish on the internet the names of absent parents who refuse to pay maintenance for their children. |
| The move, aimed at shaming parents into paying up what they owe, has already been tried in the US. | The move, aimed at shaming parents into paying up what they owe, has already been tried in the US. |
| Work and Pensions Secretary John Hutton said he aimed to "come down like a ton of bricks" on absent parents. | |
| The move is among measures to be outlined this week in a White Paper on reforms to the maintenance system. | |
| Critics say the new measures could cause hostility between partners at a difficult time in their relationship. | Critics say the new measures could cause hostility between partners at a difficult time in their relationship. |
| Electronic tagging | |
| But Mr Hutton told Andrew Marr on Sunday AM that life should be made "as uncomfortable as possible" for parents neglecting their responsibilities. | |
| "When they don't pay, we have to pay, and that is not a proper thing to happen," he said. HAVE YOUR SAY If this were to be implemented I suspect, like ASBOs, they will be worn as a badge of honour Andrew, Devon Send us your comments | |
| The White Paper will include details of the smaller body which is to replace the troubled Child Support Agency, which has been dogged by problems and is owed £3.5bn. | The White Paper will include details of the smaller body which is to replace the troubled Child Support Agency, which has been dogged by problems and is owed £3.5bn. |
| Mr Hutton said the reforms would make the system simpler and more streamlined so the new agency "can get right in there quickly, end the delays, get the money into the families that need it most and make a contribution to supporting family life and tackling child poverty." | |
| Other proposals expected in the White Paper include tough new enforcement powers, the removal of passports from absent parents who do not pay up, and curfews and electronic tagging. | |
| Nick Woodall of the Centre for Separated Families, a support group for families going through separation, said the government "unwittingly contributed" to conflict between parents. | Nick Woodall of the Centre for Separated Families, a support group for families going through separation, said the government "unwittingly contributed" to conflict between parents. |
| He told BBC Radio Five Live: "It seems like it's just another attempt by the government to sound tough on parents, when really what it should be doing is creating services to help them." | He told BBC Radio Five Live: "It seems like it's just another attempt by the government to sound tough on parents, when really what it should be doing is creating services to help them." |
| CSA COSTS Set up in 1993 to ensure parents who do not live with their children pay for their upkeepSpends 70p to collect every £1 of child support£3.5bn in payments not collected since 1993Reforms begun in 2003 cost £539m but scheme worked no better than predecessorThird of non-resident parents pay nothing despite their maintenance being assessed Source: National Audit Office, published June 2006 And Liberal Democrat spokesman David Laws said the proposed overhaul did not go far enough. | |
| "This is yet more daft 'government by gimmick' on the CSA. | |
| "Listing people's names on a website is likely to be totally ineffective and could be seen by some people more as a badge of pride than a badge of shame." | |
| He said the CSA's existing powers to take away driving licences had been little used and were of little effect. | |
| Only wholesale reform and aggressive enforcement would make any difference, he said. | |
| 'Incredibly angry' | 'Incredibly angry' |
| But Janet Allbeson from the charity One Parent Families said lone parents were desperate for the government to "put some welly" into the collection of unpaid maintenance. | But Janet Allbeson from the charity One Parent Families said lone parents were desperate for the government to "put some welly" into the collection of unpaid maintenance. |
| "We talk to lone parents all the time and they are desperate for the (Child Support Agency) to really take strong action against non-resident parents, to make sure they pay. | "We talk to lone parents all the time and they are desperate for the (Child Support Agency) to really take strong action against non-resident parents, to make sure they pay. |
| "And they're incredibly angry that people who don't pay child support, really, they've been treated a bit too lightly." | "And they're incredibly angry that people who don't pay child support, really, they've been treated a bit too lightly." |
| On Saturday it emerged that the CSA had been increasingly using private companies to collect unpaid money, which had so far enabled it to recover about £320,000 which it would not otherwise have recovered. | On Saturday it emerged that the CSA had been increasingly using private companies to collect unpaid money, which had so far enabled it to recover about £320,000 which it would not otherwise have recovered. |
| However, some campaigners fear that more than £1bn owed to parents will be written off when the agency is replaced. | However, some campaigners fear that more than £1bn owed to parents will be written off when the agency is replaced. |