Press Release - 10 November 1999

WEDNESDAY 10 NOVEMBER 1999

TAX ON FATHERHOOD

The Social Security Select Committee Report on the 1999 Child Support White Paper, released today, calls for changes to Government proposals for Child Support Agency reform.

The report recommends that parent-with-care income should be taken into account in some cases and that children of first and second families should be treated equally, but supports the £5 deduction from welfare benefits that stops many poor fathers from seeing their children at all.

Under the White Paper proposals a divorced or separated father who cares for his children 50% of the time will still have to pay up to 12.5% of his net income to the mother, even if their incomes are identical.

Unmarried fathers have no legal rights in respect of their children but have a duty to support them financially and are not exempt from the CSA.

FNF Child Support spokeswoman Karen Randall says:

"We all want a fair and workable system and that means getting the basic principles right. But there is no excuse for gender discrimination in the 21st century and the Committee has failed to tackle this issue.

The new system will penalise responsible fathers - even if they share childcare equally they still have to pay money to the mother. It will be cheaper for a father to abandon his children than to act responsibly and that is a perverse outcome. This is a straightforward tax on fatherhood.

The Government seems to prefer rough justice - today's report shows that Baroness Hollis dismissed our proposals without even looking at them."

ENDS