Accessibility statement

Influence on child support policy

Our research on child support directly influenced government policy throughout 2008-2013, an era of radical change. The changes affected all separated parents and consequently all their dependent children. This is estimated at 30% of all dependent children in the UK.

Christine skinner research new approach to child maintenance Resolution

Summary of major impacts on policy by social policy and social work research

  • informing the radical change that abolished the Child Support Agency (CSA) and returned child support to the hands of parents to make private agreements under the ‘Child Maintenance and Other Payments’ Act 2008
  • contributed to the decision to disregard child support payments and thus allow child support to increase lone parent incomes and reduce child poverty
  • contributed to the evolution of policy under the Coalition Government in the 2012 ‘Welfare Reform’ Act, which introduced new ‘relationship support’ services to improve co-parenting relationships, reduce conflict and improve child wellbeing

How the system changed

Today the focus is on encouraging co-parenting relationships first. These then provide the basis upon which child support will flow. New support services have been set up to help parents collaborate in the upbringing of their children. The destructive and ineffective cycle of ever stronger enforcement methods has ended.

 

The research

The research

The Child Support Agency (CSA) was set up on the basis of hardly any previous research on non-resident fathers and extremely limited understanding about their child support attitudes and behaviours. It failed catastrophically. Four main studies from York were debated during the review process for the CSA:

The first ever national survey of 600 non-resident fathers in Britain 1995 - 1999.

The survey demonstrated that fathers’ financial obligations were entwined with their social and emotional bonds with children (and the other parent) and were fraught and complex. What mattered most were relationships, but fathers found it difficult to work out the ‘proper thing to do’ regarding child support. They needed an enabling policy, not one that stigmatised them as ‘feckless’. We highlighted how child support policy was likely to fail as it was out of line with fathers’ sense of fairness and the way child support obligations operated in practice.

Review of the potential contribution of child support to child poverty reduction

Research included comparative research on child support policies in OECD countries and the secondary analysis of the Family Resources Survey to model what a child support disregard would do to child poverty. Another project used secondary analysis of the Family and Child Survey to assess whether child support was helping lone mothers.

An international comparative study of child maintenance systems across 14 countries

Commissioned by the Department for Work and Pensions in order to feed directly into the ‘Child Maintenance and Other Payments’ Act 2008 this research confirmed that private agreements were advantageous and that although enforcement tools were varied, compliance was difficult to achieve this way.  Further project details

Studies into separated parents and willingness to pay maintenance

Christine Skinner was a consultant to both studies. Key insights were that:

  • parents favoured private agreements if they were supported by effective information and support services
  • vital role of emotions and the quality of family relationships in making financial commitments. 

Impact on policy decisions

As well as producing the research evidence that was needed to change the appreciation of the factors that affect child maintenance decisions our researchers were key to advising government and getting the evidence heard in policy making circles.

Advisor to critical report - Professor Jonathan Bradshaw was a special advisor the the DWP Committee Report which concluded that the CSA was “a failing organisation which currently is in crisis…consideration be given to the option of winding up the Child Support Agency and plans made for an alternative.”

Contribution to Henshaw review - Sir David Henshaw reviewed the CSA and was tasked to redesign the child support system. He used our research, as did the subsequent White Paper.

Policy seminars - Professor Bradshaw and Dr Skinner were active in a series of private, high level policy seminars involving key minsters.

Operational redesign - York research fed directly to the Director of the Child Support Division for the operational redesign of the service.

Policy advisor - Dr Skinner was advisor to the House of Commons Work and Pensions Committee inquiry into Child Support Reforms. Her research was also fed directly to the first Chair of the Child Maintenance Enforcement Commission (which replaced the CSA) and the Director of the Child Support Division.

Expert Steering Group - The Family Support Service Expert Steering Group involved Dr Skinner as the sole social policy academic. They advocated a '2020 vision for new relationship support’ services to help parents collaborate in the upbringing of their children'.

Full case study

This impact case study received the highest grade in the recent Research Excellence Framework assessment exercise.

The full case study submitted to the REF 2014 panel is available here. REF-case-study-child-support (PDF , 63kb)

Today's research

Counting the emotional cost of family break up

Current research into support services for separating families.

Find out more