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News focus: Missing Daddy on Father's Day?
Tough new measures to name and shame deadbeat dads as part of a drastic shake-up to the defunct Child Support Agency have been announced. Local Government reporter MARISSA CARRUTHERS takes a look at what the proposal means.
WITH Father's Day just round the corner, children are digging deep to buy presents and cards to show just how much they care.
But while most will be celebrating, families where dads have gone Awol are often left fighting just to make ends meet.
And with claims that dozens of absent fathers are slipping through the net, the Government has unveiled plans to scrap the controversial Child Support Agency (CSA) and replace it with a tough new body.
In a bid to clamp down on the estimated 34 per cent of people who are failing to stump up child maintenance cash, the CSA will be replaced by the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission (C-Mec).
C-Mec has harsh powers to come down on distant dads who refuse to pay for their kids.
These include naming and shaming, confiscating passports, imposing curfews and taking cash directly from bank accounts if parents fail to co-operate.
John Hutton, Work and Pensions Secretary, said: "There are a small number of parents who seem to think that paying for their kids is something they can simply choose not to do.
"It isn't. And these new powers will mean that non-payment brings real and lasting penalties.
"The new rules will be simpler and more transparent, making it harder to hide income and giving us the power to deduct money directly from bank accounts as well as earnings."
While critics of the move have described it as "gimmicky", many have welcomed it as a way to crack down on the increasing number of absent parents.
Father-of-three Stephen Fletcher claims a tough new stance is what is needed to get parents to take responsibility for their kids.
Mr Fletcher, of Rutherford Square, Red House, was a former member of Fathers for Justice and launched splinter group the Real Fathers for Justice, climbing to the top of the Wearmouth Bridge to campaign for his cause.
The 36-year-old said: "It's a good thing. People in a predicament like me, as a former Fathers for Justice, member can see there are blokes out there that go out of their way to have one-night stands and just don't care about their children.
"It's men like that who give us a bad name. There a lot of good dads out there and unfortunately there's a few that go out and shame the rest of us."
But Mr Fletcher agrees the move is a good start in the bid to tackle absent parents and force them to take responsibility.
"I think a lot of people just walk away," he added, "and that's an unfortunate way that life has changed.
"Maybe if we stepped back in time a lot of dads wouldn't have walked away from their children. The older days were definitely the better days when dads stood by their kids."
But Mr Fletcher, who also caused a stir when he dressed as Superman and climbed to the top of the Tyne Bridge, said communication is the key factor in resolving situations.
He said: "I believe that communication between parents should be the main factor in life. This should be the number one priority and would certainly go a long way."
Angela Robinson, North East spokeswoman for Barnardo's, has welcomed the reform but warned that naming and shaming parents could have a knock-on effect on the rest of the family.
She said: "Barnardo's believes the Government needs to give careful thought to the effects that introducing any new sanctions will have on the child's personal relationship with the non-resident parent.
"The introduction of curfews could have an effect on contact visits with the child for example, while being able to view their parent on a website list of successfully prosecuted parents could risk exposing the child to unnecessary bullying and stigma.
"But we believe that improving the child maintenance system could provide some real benefits to the children we work with.
"It could help to move families out of poverty – particularly the measures to ensure lone parents can keep more of the maintenance they receive rather than it being off set against benefit levels.
"However, in considering the effects of any changes it is important the Government gives sufficient regard to the effect they will have on second families.
"It is important the reforms do not help large numbers of lone-parent families escape poverty while driving children from the non-resident parent's subsequent relationship into poverty."
Barry Stamp, joint managing director of online credit checking agency checkmyfile, has also warned that the proposals could mean some desperate dads losing their job or becoming homeless.
He said: "Because of the use of public credit files by landlords and employers, it is very possible that absent fathers could be made homeless or lose their job if these orders are added to credit files and viewed in a similar manner to county court judgments or decrees.
"The absent parent may well find that they lose their job or are refused a roof over their head by a landlord checking their credit file.
"This fate could also await innocent people who have no quarrel with the CSA's successor through the incorrect publication of information with the credit reference agencies."
Don't create another CSA, warns Tory
C-MEC will also work in partnership with Government bodies, including the Inland Revenue and Customs and Excise, to get parents' income and set maintenance levels.
But with the changes not expected to fully come into force until 2013, Shadow Minister for Welfare Maria Miller claims it offers nothing for the 1.4million families being failed by the current system.
She said: "These families need to see positive changes to the system now, which is why we have proposed the fast-tracking of changes to the assessment process as part of this bill.
"We must ensure the Government is not inadvertently creating CSA mark three."
Powers of the new C-Mec
PROPOSED measures to get tough on absent parents include:
Naming and shaming;
Confiscating passports;
Allowing C-Mec to take cash from bank accounts;
Using the latest available tax-year information and fixing the award for the year;
Using gross weekly income, rather than net, to limit opportunities for manipulating income levels;
Charging absent parents for the cost of tracking them down;
Information-sharing with credit reference agencies, potentially affecting future loan or mortgage applications.
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