There is parental support for the idea of independently negotiating child maintenance payments, according to new research from the University of Bristol commissioned by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
The research, Future Policy Options for Child Support: The Views of Parents, examined the views and reactions of parents on the future reform of child support policy.
When asked, parents had a strong preference against a universal system for paying maintenance and preferred the opportunity to negotiate payments between themselves. The general feeling was that parents ‘should’ and ‘could’ come to a mutual agreement without the intervention of an outside agency.
However it was felt that the Government should provide a back-up service to parents who cannot come to an agreement and where more ‘difficult’ circumstances arise.
The study also showed support for parents with care being allowed to keep all the child maintenance paid by the non-resident parent, with little support being shown for a system where payments were guaranteed; even when non-resident parents proved non-compliant.
The research comes shortly before Sir David Henshaw reports back to Secretary of State on his redesign of the Child Support system. Sir David will be looking at how we can better ensure parents take financial responsibility for their children when they live apart.
The research was carried out by Adele Atkinson and Stephen McKay of Bristol University’s Personal Finance Research Centre.
Adele Atkinson said: “Parents welcomed the opportunity to discuss how child support should be arranged between parents who did not live together. Most wanted to come to their own arrangements, but they also wanted Government to provide backup assessment and collection in case things didn't work out. They didn't think anyone should be forced to use the Child Support Agency, and they generally thought that all the money paid should be kept by the parent receiving it.”
She added: “Most parents find it difficult to separate the issues of child contact and child maintenance, with some parents bartering one for the other.”
Her co-author Stephen McKay said: “Some countries use guaranteed maintenance schemes to ensure child support is paid. But parents in our study felt it was important that it was seen to be the parent paying towards the child, not the Government.”
Future Policy Options for Child Support: The Views of Parents is published on 24 July 2006. A copy of the report can be downloaded from the DWP website
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.