Increase in fathers not paying ‘child maintenance payments amid coronavirus turmoil’

Coronavirus upheaval has sparked an increase in fathers not paying child maintenance payments, experts warned.

The Department for Work and Pensions is allowing parents who generally pay child maintenance to stop forking out money for their children without carrying out an investigation amid the Covid-19 chaos.

Gingerbread, the leading single-parent charity, warned many single-parent families will be pushed into stark poverty if they do not receive child maintenance payments.

Around 70 per cent of the two million single parents living in the UK are currently in work, but three out of 10 single parents working are living in poverty. Some 90 per cent of single parents are women.

Anne Neale, of Legal Action for Women, told The Independent she had encountered fathers refusing to pay maintenance during the pandemic.

Ms Neale, who runs the campaign group’s Support Not Separation Coalition and also supports women going through family courts, said: “In one case, a father pressing for contact made one maintenance payment of £7 the day before the court hearing but stopped almost immediately when lockdown delayed proceedings.

“In another, a father paying £45 for three children stopped as soon as lockdown ​[happened].”

Joe Richardson, of Gingerbread, said many of the children of single parents are facing an “indefinite suspension or reduction in maintenance payments”, which they desperately depend on.

He added: “Of the many families already impacted by this, most weren’t even notified by the Child Maintenance Service (CMS), and only became aware when the maintenance payments did not arrive.

“Without these payments, single-parent families will be hit with a ‘triple penalty’. Having already faced the threat of seeing their income slashed and as well as having to come up with the extra costs associated with looking after children not attending school, they are also losing out on money they rely on to put food on the table. Given almost half of children in single-parent families already live in poverty, the consequences of these penalties are unimaginable.

“It is clear that Covid-19 will have a negative impact on both parents’ finances. However, taking money away from the households of families and children who are already struggling needn’t be an option — let alone a first resort. Gingerbread is calling on the government to step in during this period to immediately fill the shortfall for parents not receiving maintenance payments to ensure this doesn’t happen and children don’t suffer.”

The organisation urged the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) to notify parents if they will no longer be receiving payments due to another parent’s financial circumstances changing — adding such payments often cover essentials, such as children’s food, clothing and overall housing costs.

Joe Levenson, of the Young Women’s Trust, said: “Thousands of people are on a financial tightrope at the moment, but many young single mums were struggling to make ends meet long before this crisis began. Missing out, or even waiting longer than usual, for vital and expected maintenance payments could be the final straw that pushes them into further poverty.”

Chris Longbottom, a family lawyer, said he had seen a surge in parents stopping paying child maintenance overnight in the wake of the coronavirus emergency. They were taking such decisions without talking over ways to lessen payments or providing evidence of how their economic situation has changed, he said.

Mr Longbottom, who works at national law firm Clarke Willmott, said: “This is a difficult time for everyone and we understand that divorced spouses and separated partners or parents, who have perhaps had their hours cut or pay reduced, will be under more financial strain than usual, but there are ways to get help and simply cutting off maintenance payments is unconscionable.

“Such action puts families and children at risk and creates a wave of knock-on impacts. We are seeing such actions impacting even the most vulnerable divorcees and it is very difficult to witness the fallout. This behaviour is unacceptable, in particular where a vulnerable person is concerned. We have seen an increase in enquiries on this issue.”

A spokesperson for the Department for Work and Pensions said: “In these unprecedented times, we have seen a significant increase in the number of new claims to Universal Credit - it’s right that we look to streamline our operations, and ensure that people get the support they need.

“No one will get away with giving false information to avoid paying what they owe and all decisions carry rights of appeal, so either parent can dispute a decision. Those found to be abusing the system at this difficult time will find themselves subject to the full extent of our enforcement powers – including prosecution through the courts.”