CSA closure welcome but parents await more answers
July 24, 2006 12:00 PM
Commenting on reports that the Child Support Agency (CSA) is to be scrapped and replaced with a new enforcement body, the Liberal Democrat MP for Gordon, Malcolm Bruce said:
"This is welcome news that could not have come sooner. The Liberal Democrats and many other social justice groups have long been calling for this expensive and ineffective agency to be scrapped."
"Since its inception in 1993, the CSA has limped along and caused a lot of additional heartache for many existing and new families, who are already vulnerable as they try to adapt to their new situation."
"Over the years, I have lost count of the number of frustrated constituents who have contacted me with serious complaints about the CSA. I hope that today's announcement will not leave them stuck in a bureaucratic no-man's land as the Government tries to install its new system.
"Across the country there are £3.5bn of child maintenance arrears and a 330,000 strong backlog of cases. It is crucial that those parents with thousands of pounds still owed to them are not abandoned by a government desperate to start afresh with a clean slate.
"It is also essential that a balance is struck so those fathers who have fully co-operated with the CSA are treated fairly and not turned into scapegoats for other fathers' neglect. We must recognise that the vast majority of parents only want the best for their children.
"Regardless of the detail in today's proposals, these reforms will rightly be judged on how effectively they get money through to those children and parents who are entitled to it."
ENDS
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