Work and Pensions written question – answered at on 21 March 2011.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the introduction of private voluntary agreements to collect child maintenance payments on the number of resident parents using such agreements.
Family-based arrangements are already possible and while some parents use them, research suggests around half of parents currently using the statutory child maintenance scheme would want to make family based arrangements if given support to do so. The coalition Government want to support more families to be able to collaborate and come to family-based arrangements which in general are better for children, as both parents continue to be actively involved in their children's lives.
The recent Child Maintenance Green Paper "Strengthening Families, promoting parental responsibility: the future of child maintenance" also recognises that some parents may need support in reaching these arrangements. The intention is to integrate the information and support available to separating and separated parents, with the aim of supporting more parents as they look to agree family-based arrangements.
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