CPAG reaction to child support reforms
18.01.06

Commenting on reports that private debt collectors are to be used to collect money from absent parents who fail to pay maintenance, Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) Chief Executive Kate Green said:

“The key test of the government’s proposals will be whether billions of pounds of outstanding maintenance money finally begin to reach the children who need it and are entitled to it.

“CPAG is pleased that Ministers are at last taking enforcement and the collection of outstanding debt so seriously. Getting private debt collectors involved is one solution but we need to see the detail. What methods will the private firms use, how will they be regulated and how much of the debt they collect will be kept as profit?

“Recovering debt and ensuring that absent parents pay up is just one part of the Child Support Agency’s job. When the review is formally announced we will also be looking for serious improvements in the service people receive, the way cases are assessed and how maintenance is calculated.”

For further information please contact:
Alex Belardinelli
CPAG Press Officer
Tel. 020 7812 5216 or 07816 909302
abelardinelli@cpag.org.uk