Most vulnerable families will still be failed by CSA review - Laws

5.16.40pm BST (GMT +0100) Thu 1st Jun 2006

Responding to today's report that Child Support Agency is to be slimmed down, Liberal Democrat Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, David Laws MP said "We need root and branch reform of the CSA, but instead we get review after review. Today's leaked proposals fail to deal with the backlog of tens of thousands of families still waiting for money to which they are entitled.

"These proposals will offer little comfort to the most vulnerable families who continue to be let down by the failing CSA.

"There is a danger that the Government has again decided to avoid many of the problems of the CSA rather than solve them. Sadly many separated parents are unable to come to their own agreements about financially supporting their children.

"The Government's continued obsession with using private debt collectors is worrying, there is a risk that these 'bounty hunters' will simply go for the soft cases and fail to tackle the more complex ones. If they are paid out of the money they are supposed to be collecting, this will be lost to the children it is meant for."