This site is an archive of the OneSpace Forums. Return to forum index.
(NOTE FROM MODERATOR: this post has been edited to give a more general view of the issue for our members. I have also lodged a post below with more information for members)
Some of you will already know that the Gvnt is currently consulting on its proposal to charge parents for the use of the Child Support Agency (CSA).
Currently 1.2 million parents use the Child Support Agency (CSA) in order to collect regular child maintenance payments from the non-carer parent. The average monthly maintenance payment is £145.00.
Currently one parent will pay £145.00 to the CSA which will then pay this £145.00 to the other parent to use towards the costs of raising their child(ren).
The Government wants to reform this system. It is proposing to charge the non-carer parent up to 20% (an average of £29.00) to use the child maintenance system and it is further proposing a deduction of up to 12% (an average of £17.40) from the child maintenance payment in order to cover the costs of running the system.
Government’s proposal: one parent will pay £174.00 to the CSA which will then make its deductions and then will pay only £127.60 to the other parent towards the costs of raising their child(ren).
You should also know you will have to pay £100 just to apply to use the new system!! Note from Moderator: different arrangements apply for parents with care on benefits, see my post below)
There is an online petition at
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/taxingkids/
You can read the Gvnts consultation paper and respond directly here
I hope it is ok to link to my blog, but I have written a response to the consulatation here http://2starsandaswirl.co.uk/2011/03/03/the-proposed-changes-to-the-csa-my-response/
I am very concerned that many single parents are not aware of the changes, and would be intimidated to not raise concerns.
If you have a chance please read
Thanks
I can't help but feel the proposals are ludicrous. However if the money is sourced back into the system to help create more support for the seperating parents That is arguably good.
Decreased payments for those on (any) benefits make it fairer, I'm just thinking about rental agency's and their fees upon you entering agreements, the one I'm with currently charges around £30 a year to keep our annual contract current - otherwise it becomes a monthly rolling contract where every month legally the landlord could give us our notice. And generally on applying for a new place you pay around 20 - 100 for just signing up. Those payments are in line with that.
Parents earning high wages will probably be clever enough to go around child maintenance and set up their own thing. the low earners will probably avoid it too as it's just too much effort for too little result. So it's the middle earners that will suffer. as usual. if this does come into place.
Good afternoon all,
How did the CSA come about? was it decided by them initially to set it up or was it through pressure or a demand from parents?
It was set up in 1993 following The Child Support Act of 1991. It was a governmental move designed to keep child maintenance cases out of the court system
the other huge problem with the proposal is that once you have tried to set up payments through the CSA, the non carer parent can opt out to avoid the charges on the proviso that they will pay you directly. In many cases this will simply not happen and payments will be missed. The paper says the Gvnt will "move swiftly" to bring the defaulting parent back into the collection service but what are you meant to do about the missed payment? Thats possibly £145 wiped from your monthly budget. I personally rely heavily on the money I get thorugh the CSA and if a payment was missed, which it inevitably would be under the new system, I would be well and truly screwed.
I have read the Govt consultation document. The financial details given above are from the document, although the proposed charges are BETWEEN 15 and 20 % for parents without majority care and BETWEEN 7 and 12 % for parents with day to day care. The £100 Gateway fee is reduced for parents "on benefits" (just which "benefits" not specified) and asks for £20 upfront from this group of people, with the rest in instalments only if maintenance is actually received. It also provides for parents to receive/make the payments through a scheme called Maintenance Direct, under which there would be no ongoing charges to either party. No charges are payable by victims of domestic violence or where separation has occurred because a child is at risk.
Having said all that (which I felt was important as it was not included in the original post) it still boils down to a scheme that charges parents for its services, and if you were on Income Support or JSA then how could you pay £20 upfront with no guarantee of child support money? It is evidently designed to encourage parents to make their own arrangements. It promises an annual review based on Inland Revenue records and also much swifter and more punitive action against non-paying parents without care. It looks at possible systems to help families in the early stage of separation to work out their own arrangments.
The consultation document is clearly written and easy to digest, if anyone would like to read it from the link above. It invites people to email them with views.