CMEC begins exercising new powers as new table shows large sum of outstanding maintenance arrears
29th July 2010 by: David Lillywhite
The single parent charity Gingerbread has produced a nationwide league table of child maintenance debt divided by parliamentary region showing how much money is owed to children by non-resident parents across the country. The table is headed by Great Grimsby where £11,069,000 is owed. The area is followed by Milton Keynes South West (£10,495,000) and Blackpool South (£10,370,000). The total sum outstanding across the country is a staggering £3,671 million and draws attention yet again to the vast sum of maintenance still owed to children in a week when the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission (CMEC) began using tough new powers to halt or reverse the sale and transfer of assets by parents determined to frustrate their responsibility to their children.
In the first case of its kind, a father in the North West who had not paid anything to his partner for nearly twelve years and owed over £78,000, was prevented from selling a house that was being advertised on a property website. He had not responded to letters or phone calls from the Child Support Agency (CSA), the organisation which has since fallen under the control of CMEC.
Utilising new powers granted to it by recent legislation, CMEC applied for a freezing order halting the sale in the belief that the father would attempt to put the net proceeds beyond the reach of the CSA. Recent reforms have focused on closing loopholes that have previously seen non-resident parents put assets into the names of new partners and relatives in order to avoid paying the CSA and providing for their children.
The new legislation also allows a sale or transfer of a valuable asset to be reversed, meaning that non-resident parents can no longer quickly dispose of assets to avoid the CSA taking possession of them. The reforms are part of a concerted effort on the part of CMEC to enforce outstanding arrears with the Commission having already issued Orders for Sale against 500 properties around Britain. CMEC reports that over £2 million in arrears has now been collected despite fewer than 15 properties being possessed. In addition, more than 400 Lump Sum Deduction Orders have been made, with sums of up to £40,000 being deducted in some cases.
The news will reinforce the view that CMEC is serious about changing the public’s perception of the child maintenance system. A new approach has long been overdue and the statistic that only 15 properties have been repossessed despite 500 Orders for Sale being issued demonstrates how effective the threat of property repossession is. Emboldened by these new powers, early indications are that the reforms will allow CMEC to become a more effective organisation with a renewed focus on maintenance collection rather than administrative paperwork.
In the first case of its kind, a father in the North West who had not paid anything to his partner for nearly twelve years and owed over £78,000, was prevented from selling a house that was being advertised on a property website. He had not responded to letters or phone calls from the Child Support Agency (CSA), the organisation which has since fallen under the control of CMEC.
Utilising new powers granted to it by recent legislation, CMEC applied for a freezing order halting the sale in the belief that the father would attempt to put the net proceeds beyond the reach of the CSA. Recent reforms have focused on closing loopholes that have previously seen non-resident parents put assets into the names of new partners and relatives in order to avoid paying the CSA and providing for their children.
The new legislation also allows a sale or transfer of a valuable asset to be reversed, meaning that non-resident parents can no longer quickly dispose of assets to avoid the CSA taking possession of them. The reforms are part of a concerted effort on the part of CMEC to enforce outstanding arrears with the Commission having already issued Orders for Sale against 500 properties around Britain. CMEC reports that over £2 million in arrears has now been collected despite fewer than 15 properties being possessed. In addition, more than 400 Lump Sum Deduction Orders have been made, with sums of up to £40,000 being deducted in some cases.
The news will reinforce the view that CMEC is serious about changing the public’s perception of the child maintenance system. A new approach has long been overdue and the statistic that only 15 properties have been repossessed despite 500 Orders for Sale being issued demonstrates how effective the threat of property repossession is. Emboldened by these new powers, early indications are that the reforms will allow CMEC to become a more effective organisation with a renewed focus on maintenance collection rather than administrative paperwork.
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