CHILD MAINTENANCE SERVICE CHARGES

That this House is deeply concerned by the introduction of charging for use of the new Child Maintenance Service and that a lack of resources means that £2.9 billion of the £3.9 billion arrears owed to single parent families is not being collected; deplores the fact that money once intended for the upbringing of children is now being taken solely for Government coffers and that receiving families will lose out by over £70 a year which could pay for anything from winter coats to school trips or to put food on the table; refutes the idea that charges act as an incentive for parents to make private arrangements; questions how charging passes the Government's flagship family test, which includes an assessment of what impact a policy has on families most at risk of deteriorating relationships and breakdown; is mindful that a statutory child maintenance system was set up 21 years ago to address the suffering caused by child poverty and the financial costs that were otherwise being met by the state; and urges the Government to end charging for use of the child maintenance system and ensure adequate resources to collect arrears.