WIREDGOV

Research is to be published today by the Department for Work and Pensions as part of the programme of research designed to monitor and evaluate the reforms to the Child Support scheme. The report presents a picture of the views of the general public and Child Support Agency clients to child support issues prior to the reforms. This will form part of the 'baseline' used to monitor the impact of the Child Support Reforms, and will be compared with findings from later studies to analyse the effect of the reforms on attitudes toward child support issues.

Findings are based on the Office for National Statistics Omnibus Survey, and the British Social Attitudes Survey 2000, and trend comparison made with previous BSA surveys. These are compared with findings from the National Client Baseline Survey and relevant government data sources.

Baseline surveys have already been conducted with clients, both parents with care (PWC) and non-resident parents (NRP), and potential clients (general public and current non- users). These will be repeated in 2004/5.

The main findings are as follows:
- albeit in conjunction with parents. Around 40% of both NRPs (Non Resident Parents) and PWCs (Parents With Care), felt it was the responsibility of both government and parents. Over half of NRPS and PWCs (58% and 59% respectively) felt maintenance should be the responsibility of the parent.

- There was a strong consensus, both among the general public (80%) and PWCs (80%), that an NRP should pay maintenance for their children. NRPs were least likely to agree, with 46% saying they either did not think they should pay, or that it should depend on circumstances.

- It was generally felt that if parents earnings changed (either increased or decreased) this should be taken into account. However, there were clear differences between the views of PWCs and NRPs in the treatment of earnings. For example, the survey asked whether parents should pay maintenance if their earnings were very low. In all, 73 per cent of PWCs said they should, as against only 40 per cent of NRPs. Views also differed in relation to payments to children from second and first families.

- Overall, awareness of maintenance calculations and of the reforms was very low, both among the general public and CSA clients. Given a choice, most NRPs stated that they would not use the CSA, and would rather sort out maintenance privately.

- Very few people felt that all maintenance paid to mothers on benefit should go to the state, instead they felt that mothers on benefit should keep some or all of the maintenance.

Notes to editors

1. New findings from a module of questions commissioned in the March 2000 Office for National Statistics (ONS) Omnibus Survey are presented for the first time, as are findings from the British Social Attitudes (BSA) Survey 2000, and trend comparison made with previous BSA surveys. The ONS and BSA survey findings will be compared with findings from the National Client Baseline Survey and relevant government data sources .

2. The fieldwork for the National Client Baseline Survey was carried out on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions by the Universities of Southampton and Bristol and by Ipsos-RSL.

3. The Government's reforms are intended to make child support a simple more deliverable scheme focused on the needs of children and responsible parents. They were enacted in the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security act 2000. The main changes include the abolition of the complex formula used to calculate maintenance; the introduction of a child maintenance premium, allowing parents with care on Income Support to keep up to £10 a week of any maintenance paid without affecting their benefit; and a range of measures designed to increase compliance. The new scheme is due to be introduced for new cases in 2002/2003.

'Attitudes toward child support and the Child Support Agency' by Daphne White, DWP In- house Research Report Series no. 100, is published on 15th April 2002. A summary and copy of the report are available on the DWP website: http//www.dss.gov.uk/asd/asd5.

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This module will be repeated at a later date(s), which will enable us to measure any changes in the climate of opinion over time. In particular, we will be able to track awareness of reform and attitudes toward the principles underpinning it.

'Attitudes to the Welfare State and the Response to Reform', 'The British Lone Parent Cohort 1991 to 1998' and 'Public Attitudes to Child Support Issues'.