The Child Support Agency is failing more than half a million children and should be scrapped if it does not get tougher with non-resident parents.

That was the verdict of the House of Commons work and pensions select committee in a report out this week, which also called for the government to abandon its plan to cut 25 per cent of agency staff.

Committee chair Sir Archy Kirkwood said: "The CSA is operating on borrowed time. Rapid, radical action is needed if the Department [for Work and Pensions] is to deliver a service that children deserve."

The report blames senior managers for failings in implementing the agency's new IT system and a lack of guidance and inadequate training for front-line staff.