Polly Toynbee’s article again (Here’s one way to reduce child poverty in Britain: stop worrying and make all fathers pay their dues 29 November), I was a DWP Relatives Officer for a number of years – the arrangement predated the Child Support Agency and was much more practical.
In this role, I prosecuted absentee fathers (and sometimes mothers) for failing to support their children. Later, as a family court magistrate, I often imposed support orders. The disappointment was that many fathers left one family and immediately started another. This usually means that there are not enough funds to support both of them, and often the first family suffers the most.
When men (and they usually are men) have enough income to pay for their children, it can be very difficult to figure out how much disposable money is available. I have had cases where, in order to avoid payment, men give up work and even dispute the origin of the children. Income may still be “deemed” available in such circumstances, but enforcement would not be easy.
Solving the problem requires a comprehensive approach. Boys need to be taught from an early age that fathering a child comes with responsibilities that don’t end when a relationship breaks up. The benefits system should be overhauled so that child support payments can be deducted in the same way that fines and overpayments are refunded. Earnings garnishment orders should be used more widely for people who are in work, and for the self-employed, recovery should be applied with the same rigor as a tax debt. After all, non-support should be treated with imprisonment.
Susan Donnelly
Prescott, Merseyside
