C-MEC

In the later part of 2008 the CSA (Child Support Agency) becomes known as the new Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission (C-MEC). Is it really a new dept or just a shiny new nameplate at head office?

Lets assume its a brand new body..

It will have lot more powers than the current CSA, giving them power to take money directly from people’s bank accounts (including joint accounts), impose curfews, seize money from the sale of property and confiscate passports and driving licences.

Can Anyone explain then..

How can a NRP who's job involves varied shifts, continue to work when subject to curfews~ Or could this NRP lose his job, and in turn be unable to pay child support. Which incidentally is the very reason the curfew is in place.

How can a NRP who's job requires a driving licence, such as a taxi or bus driver, continue his work~ or could this NRP too lose his job and be unable to continue to pay child support. Which is again....... Well you can guess the rest.

How can the NRP who's job requires a passport, such as being armed forces or airline pilots. Ring any bells?

Taking money from joint bank accounts~ Well it is pretty obvious what problems can arise here, the funds in the account will not just be the NRP's, but the joint account holders.

Forcing house sales is barbaric to say the least~ What about the family who calls the house 'home'.  Where will the qualifying child stay during contact? ~ Ah yes they will share boxes in the local center-point.    

OUR NRP AND THEIR FAMILIES HAVE A WORSE OUTLOOK THEN TERRORISTS.

Given the catalogue of mistakes the CSA have made for more than a decade, this could mean hundreds of thousands of NRPs (mostly fathers), and their families (including children) in the UK being wrongfully penalised with little hope of resolution. Sure there is a complaints procedure, but this is lengthy and you need a law degree to understand it. It is noted, CSA staff have stated they fail to fully understand the many tentacles of child support legislation.

SO WHAT CHANCE THEN HAS THE UNQUALIFIED NRP GOT?

The Government’s bill is currently working its way through Parliament, and could be set into law in the very near future. We need to ask the Government to think again. Please new labour, a bit of common sense would be helpful

ALLOW OUR PARENTS TO BE PARENTS, THEY ARE NOT CRIMINALS.

While the CSA has been dogged by mistake after mistake, incompetence and maladministration since its creation in 1993, replacing it with a more powerful body seems to be asking for trouble. It’s a bit like giving a child a shotgun. The current staff and system are not well enough trained to run today's system without being able to swing such axes.

THESE PEOPLE ARE PLAYING WITH PEOPLES PRIVATE LIVES

Kim Fellowes is a solicitor based in the North East,  warns against these powers coming into play "These new powers will affect every single family going through separation. The dropping the need for a court to grant a liability order is not short of dictatorship.
For NRP's, this means the safety net of the court has been removed. Someone might not agree that they have been sent to prison for a criminal offence, but at least they know they have been tried before a court.The difference here is that there is no court scrutiny.

If the father believes he is being unfairly pursued or harassed, that could mean a severe backlash for the mother as she will ultimately get the blame. The risk is that even a separation that was previously fairly amicable could become strained.

A further problem which arises~ if the new body has more powers than the current CSA, but the errors stay the same then the consequences of those errors will be magnified. In the early days of the CSA, a report found errors in a staggering 86% of cases!

Even though improvements were promised, little was done as a Nation Audit Office report made in 2006 found that 20% of all payments made to the CSA were inaccurate. Should these mistakes continue with the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission.

THEY CAN AND WILL BREACH HUMAN RIGHTS.
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