Informing the piloting of Deduction from Earnings Orders as the primary method of collecting child maintenance
by Ashfa Slater and Kate McPhillipsThe context for this research is the Government's commitments outlined within their White Paper 'A New System of Child Maintenance' (HMSO, December 2006). These commitments include the development of a new Child Maintenance & Enforcement Commission (the Commission), which will oversee child maintenance arrangements. The Commission will have the tools to establish the reliable collection of child maintenance payments as soon as possible and powers to take firm enforcement action at the earliest opportunity against non-resident parents (NRPs) who fail to fulfil their obligation to pay maintenance. The White Paper also included a commitment on legislation to pilot the use of Deduction from Earnings Orders ( DEOs) as the primary means of collecting maintenance from those in employment. (A DEO is currently used in circumstances where an NRP is failing, or not likely, to comply with another method of payment, such as a direct debit.)
The Government responded to stakeholder consultation on the White Paper by committing itself to carrying out research to inform the most effective way to pilot the use of DEOs as the primary means of collecting maintenance. The overarching aim of this research was to build up a quantifiable picture of likely employer fears, worries and concerns over this new approach with DEOs, in order to inform the piloting and to inform ways in which the new Commission can work to alleviate and respond to employer concerns. The research involved a quantitative survey with 1,503 UK-based employers covering a range of sizes and sectors.
September 2008 106 pages 297x210mm
ISBN 978 1 84712 440 1
(1.81MB)