WIREDGOV

More children are benefiting from child maintenance, with more parents paying this quarter than in any previous quarter.

National statistics released today show that by the end of September 2009, over 797,000 children were benefiting from child maintenance.

The latest figures – marking a year since the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission took over responsibility for the Child Support Agency (CSA) – show;

By the end of September 2009, 797,300 children were benefiting from maintenance via the statutory maintenance service The CSA collected or arranged £1,131 million in child maintenance in the year ending September 2009£152m arrears have been collected since September 2008. More parents are paying for their children – by the end of September 2009, in 73% of cases where a liability to pay maintenance exists, non-resident parents met their obligation to make a payment via the CSA or through a Maintenance Direct arrangement.In the 12 months to July 2009, 116,000 new enforcement actions were taken including 63,405 new Deduction from Earnings Orders.

Child Maintenance Commissioner, Stephen Geraghty, said:

“These figures confirm we are getting more money flowing to more children as we continue to develop an entirely new system of child maintenance. In the year since the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission was formed, we have made good progress towards our goal of maximising the number of children benefiting from effective maintenance arrangements, developing new services such as Child Maintenance Options as well as continuing to improve the performance of the CSA whilst also taking firm enforcement action against those parents who refuse to accept their financial responsibilities.”

NOTES TO EDITORS

The Child Maintenance & Enforcement Commission is a new body responsible for the child maintenance system in Great Britain. The Commission’s role is to promote financial responsibility for children; offer the Child Maintenance Options information and support service; and to develop and direct the statutory child maintenance service currently provided by the Child Support Agency. The Child Support Agency has not been ‘replaced’ by the Commission. The Commission is developing an entirely new statutory maintenance scheme that will replace the two schemes currently provided by the CSA from 2011. The CSA name and ‘brand’ will remain in use until all of its cases have been closed and parents have been invited to apply to the new scheme. This process will take until 2013/14 to complete.Full details of the latest Quarterly Summary of Statistics from the CSA can be viewed at http://www.childmaintenance.orgChild Maintenance Options can be accessed by visiting www.cmoptions.org or calling the freephone number 0800 9880988.

Contacts:

For further information please contact the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission Press Office on 020 7853 8082-83
media@childmaintenance.gsi.gov.uk