Press Release 

FNF agrees with much of the Report issued by
the Work and Pensions Committee on CSA reforms.

·             The Government needs to provide much more detail, not least on funding, on encouraging private agreements;

·             The Committee rightly criticises the White Paper’s total failure to mention shared parenting, and in some ways it actively discourages it.

·             Families Need Fathers hopes the Bill will address shared parenting.
 

Families Need Fathers (FNF) agrees with the Committee’s call for full disregard for child maintenance premium and their criticism of the 40% increase in the Non Resident Parent’s contribution when on benefit.
 

It shares their doubts that C-MEC will be effective given its prospective work-load and the planned regime.
 

And it shares the Committee’s doubts about tying compulsory registration of both parents at birth to CSA reform, but it understands that the Government is planning to de-link these. FNF strongly supports compulsory registration. Every child has a right to know the identity of both their natural parents.
 

Jon Davies, Chief Executive of the children’s charity has said: “We strongly support children getting financial support from both parents, in proportion to their income and wealth, but this has to be rooted in encouraging shared parenting, for the good of the child.
 

We would like to see a system that takes account of the full costs of shared parenting, and the income and assets of both parents, in deciding the appropriate financial arrangements. We believe this would be in the best interests of the child and be fair to both parents. Accommodation and transport are major costs which the system needs to take into account,” he added.

FNF has been a critic of the state’s child support policies. It strongly supports the fundamental duty of parents to provide appropriately for the costs of their children’s upbringing. While FNF understands the objections of some compelled to pay child support in the absence of appropriate parenting and contact arrangements, the charity’s advice to them is to respect the law and to use constitutional means to change it.

As a charity, Families Need Fathers sees many real examples of the negative effects of the CSA on our members:
 

Ø      A father earning his living as a driver had his license suspended by the CSA.  His son is disabled and he looks after him for about 30% of the time, but the assessment takes no account of this. The father was rendered homeless for a long period.

Ø      Another father was told he could not be considered for a driving job for which he had applied, because in the past his license had been suspended thanks to CSA action.

Ø      An ex-wife took a Member’s daughter a long way away to live. Seeing his daughter involved a 600 mile round trip. He applied to the CSA for a variation to assist with the costs of the travelling. The net result, based on travel every 2 weeks, was a reduction in the weekly amount he paid in child support of around one pound and 70 pence.

Ø      “The tax benefits and child benefit all go to my son's mother, and I pay maintenance on top. Yet he lives with me a third of the time.”

Ø      “My son lives with me 7 days out of 14 and with mum 7 days out of 14. There is no dispute, except DWP saying priority to mum and they can only recognise one parent.” 

Ø      An ex-wife has re-married a man sufficiently wealthy to own two houses worth over £500k each. Our member’s daughter spends half her holidays and every other weekend with him. Yet he is still subject to a CSA Order that puts him in considerable financial difficulty.

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Note for editors :

Families Need Fathers(FNF) is a registered charity providing information and support on shared parenting issues arising from family breakdown, and support to divorced and separated parents, irrespective of gender or marital status. Our primary concern is the maintenance of the child’s relationship with both parents. Founded in 1975, FNF helps thousands of parents every year.