Two out of five fail to pay child maintenance to their ex-partners in Blackpool

Nearly 40 per cent of parents who have their child maintenance payments controlled by the Government in Blackpool are failing to pay their ex-partners.

By The Newsroom

Published 1st Oct 2018, 09:04 GMT

Updated 1st Oct 2018, 10:07 GMT

Two out of five fail to pay child maintenance to their ex-partners in Blackpool

Newly released figures from the Department for Work and Pensions show that around 520 parents were due to pay support through the Child Maintenance Service in Blackpool between April and June 2018, but 37 per cent of them had their payments in arrears.

The proportion of parents with payments in arrears in Blackpool is down from 39.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2018.

The charity for single-parent families Gingerbread said the rate of noncompliance in Britain, about 38 per cent of the total, is “worryingly high”.

This payment service, called Collect & Pay, is part of the Child Maintenance Service (CMS), which was set up in 2012 to replace the Child Support Agency.

In Blackpool, 800 parents made Direct Pay arrangements from April to June 2018.