The Big Question

Should the Child Support Agency be scrapped?

Jean Stogdon – Grandparents Plus
Yes it should. The CSA has spent more money on keeping itself in business than it has on the mothers who depend on it. The money would be better spent on education, encouraging fathers to take responsibility for their children and to stay in touch with them. It would have been better to focus on fathers’ importance in children’s lives.

Angie Lawrence – Single mother
I have been involved with many single parents in support groups and helplines.  I have yet to hear a success story about the CSA. Most single parents receive little or no financial support from the absent parent and, despite involvement by the CSA, have often gone for years having to manage on their own income to provide for their family.

Eve Rank – Inspired Services
I think that fathers should pay for their children but the agency has done little about it. The government seems to have been wasting a huge amount of money and time telling us it will all be alright, when it clearly is not and they do not know how to make it better. I wonder whether going back to a court system would be better.

Len Smith – Gypsy activist
In principle I support the idea of the CSA. In practice, it seems to have been responsible for far more than its fair share of horrendous problems. I’ve never met any father or mother who has been satisfied with its decisions. If it cannot be overhauled, a new system should be devised after a long period of thought and consideration and then implemented with care.