24 July 2006 - Future Policy Options for Child Support: The Views of Parents
Findings from DWP research that examined parental views on possible future child support policy options is published today.
The following key findings are of note:
- Mothers and fathers believe that they have a responsibility to support their children financially, but that the levels of financial support depend on a number of factors, including: current outgoings, parent-child contact, and responsibility for other children. Some parents also believe that financial support from an absent parent should depend on the level of other support (through repartnering for example) that may be received by parents with care.
- Parents do not want a universal system of child support that they would be obliged to use.
- Support for parents with care being allowed to keep all the child maintenance paid by the non-resident parent
- Parents would prefer to reach child maintenance agreements between themselves.
- There is strong support for the Government providing some level of ‘back-up’ service for those parents who find it impossible to come to an amicable agreement. Though there is opposition to charging for such a service, fees are not necessarily seen as a deterrent.
- There is strong support for robust enforcement measures and very little support for the idea that Government should guarantee maintenance in the event of non-compliance.
Notes to Editors
- Future Policy Options for Child Support: The Views of Parents is published on 24 July 2006 in the Department for Work & Pensions Research Report Series (Report number 380). A copy of the report can be downloaded from the DWP website: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/
- The research was undertaken during May and June 2006 and is based upon a series of focus groups that examined the views and experiences of a mix of 31 parents with care, non-resident parents and ‘intact’ couples.
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