Frustration for single parents as CSA slows down on debt recovery

28 April 2010

Latest statistics on the performance of the Child Support Agency (CSA) published today show that, despite a more than three-fold increase in legal and debt enforcement staff since 2006, and despite a suite of new enforcement powers granted by Parliament in 2008, the Agency’s performance in collecting child maintenance arrears has deteriorated.  Set a target of collecting £170 million arrears in 2009/10, the new figures show the Agency managed only £147 million – a fall of £11 million compared to the previous year.

Commenting today on the figures, Fiona Weir, Chief Executive of Gingerbread, said:

“There is an estimated £1065 million in maintenance arrears which the Agency accepts is collectable from non-resident parents, yet it seems to lack ambition and urgency in ensuring that families, who for years have lost out on child maintenance, get the thousands of pounds they are owed. 

“At present there are around a million cases with maintenance arrears and the average debt owed to parents is £2,200.   In a year’s time, a brand new child maintenance scheme will be unveiled.  But as well as promising a bright new future, the Agency must clear up the mess from past failure – otherwise a generation of children will have lost out for ever.

“Now is the time to mount a concerted drive to reduce child support debt.  Yet for the current year, 2010/11, the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission who are in charge of the CSA haven’t even set a target for arrears recovery.   This is quite shocking.”

Note to Editors

1. The March 2010 Child Support Agency National Statistics are available at http://www.childmaintenance.org/en/pdf/qss/QSS%20March10.pdf

2. The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission took over responsibility for the Child Support Agency in November 2008.  

3. In 2008/09 the Agency collected £158 in arrears against a target of £220m. For 2009/10 the target was lowered to £170m.

4. The number of staff working solely on enforcement was increased from 572 legal enforcement staff in March 2006 to 3,187 legal and enforcement staff in March 2009.

5. The Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act 2008 has substantially increased the enforcement options available to the Commission.  However, the Commission has been slow to implement the new powers it has been given by Parliament.