---

Child Maintenance and Other Payments Bill

It is enforceable in the same way as a court decree. The situation is slightly worse than the hon. Gentleman suggests. If there is an effective court decree that can be enforced by the use of sheriff officers, bailiffs or whoever is used in England for such matters, with arrestment of bank accounts and all the paraphernalia of enforcing decrees, the process can be relatively quick. If that option is not available and it is necessary to go back to CMEC, the process has to start from the beginning again. CMEC might be super-efficient and get things done quickly, but the history of the CSA does not bode well, given that many cases have lain with it for months, if not years, during which time no maintenance has been paid and arrears have escalated, which becomes a serious problem because when enforcement is attempted the arrears are astronomical and the absent parent will go to any lengths to avoid paying them. As I said, the innovation was widely welcomed, and rightly so. I stress, as did the hon. Member for South-West Bedfordshire (Andrew Selous), that the number of people wanting to enter into a minute of agreement that goes beyond the statutory scheme will probably be low, but it is an important group and it is important to provide choice. However, as things stand under the current legislation, this will have little impact because the minute continues to be restricted to one year. Sir David Henshaw recommended that that rule be abolished. One of the hopes as regards the reform of the CSA was that many more people would enter into minutes of agreement, but retaining the 12-month rule puts a restriction on the number who can do so. I think that the Minister will be disappointed by the number who go on to use minutes of agreement. The Public and Commercial Services union has raised concerns as to whether the numbers that he has projected, which underpin future reductions in staffing, will be met. There is an historical perspective to this in that the original 1991 Act envisaged the Child Support Agency taking over all cases of child support from the outset, which proved well beyond its capabilities. The present one-year rule was introduced to give it a breathing space, and that has now been in existence for seven years because the agency was never able to catch up. If we are to move forward, we all agree that it is important to get maintenance for children and to get an agreement that is in the best interests of children. The Minister seems to have tunnel vision on the matter; he is looking at only one item. It was the same in the old CSA, which overturned agreements that worked quite well because it was obsessed by the revenue stream, rather than considering the whole circumstances of the family. If we are to allow separated couples to reach agreement, we must allow them some freedom to reach an agreement that suits their circumstance. If we proceed with the Bill as drafted, no one in their right mind is likely to enter into an agreement that deviates from the child maintenance levels set out in it, despite the fact that we were clearly told in evidence sessions that many parents wish to consider alternatives. I quote Hilary Reynolds, who I think is the civil servant in charge of the Bill:"““It is worth noting that when we have talked to some clients about what they find important in a voluntary agreement, sometimes it is not regular payments, but lump sums, mortgage or school uniform payments, or whatever. What suits the parents of the child or children will be a variety of things, not just the standard x amount per period.””––[Official Report, Child Maintenance and Other Payments Public Bill Committee, 17 July 2007; c. 29.]" We also have to remember that when couples with children separate, the agreement comes at a very traumatic period. They are often very wounded, and we are asking them to negotiate an agreement. We need to give them the confidence that the agreement negotiated will be adhered to. I reiterate the point that I made in an intervention on the Minister. As things stand, even under new clause 2—I do not oppose it, but I do not think that it changes the law—parties can still enter into an agreement, and a year and a day later, one of those parties can say unilaterally, ““It doesn't matter. This has all worked fine, but I've decided I don't like it any more. I'm going to the commission and asking them to overturn it.”” The history of the CSA is that many minutes of agreement were overturned because it just looked at the application of the payment for child maintenance. It did not take into account any transfers of capital, transfers of the matrimonial home, transfers of business or anything else, which led to a great deal of problems. The hon. Member for Rochdale made the point that research has shown that many agreements were property-driven, which is probably correct because they were bound by capital payments. Sometimes, however, the property is the only large asset there is, and in many cases where a couple are separating, the other party disappears off the face of the Earth as soon as the separation is through. A house is an asset—that is why we have mortgages. It is sitting there, immovable. In many cases one party would very much like to get the house before the other party disappears. The Minister's objection in Committee, which is coming through again today, seems to be the fear that such agreements will be used to get around obligations for child maintenance. None of us wants to see that happen. We all want both parents to adhere to their obligations. We are all trying to get to the same thing, but the Minister is transfixed by that fear. I do not believe that his fear would be realised. Such minutes of agreement, in my experience in my previous life, are not set in stone. They contain provisions for amendment through passage of time or change of circumstances. We all recognise that child support is a long-term matter. It is not for one year or five, but for 15, 16 or 17 years. There are some parents who will go to extraordinary lengths to avoid paying for their children. Frankly, however, it does not matter what rules are in place; those who are prepared to do that will still be prepared to do it. The new agency should be concentrating its fire on those cases. Those parents who accept responsibility and are prepared to enter into a sensible agreement should be allowed to do so, and to do so in terms that fit their circumstances. I mentioned the problems with the old agency overturning such agreements and if the rule remains in the current form, the problem will continue. CMEC could do exactly the same and the same problems will arise. No one will enter into a minute of agreement on other than the standard terms. After Committee, I tried to think about the Minister's objections to the amendments that I tabled. That is why amendment No. 1 takes its present form. I tried to incorporate some terms that would alleviate the Minister's concerns. I made it clear that there must be independent legal advice before the agreement is signed. The husband cannot say to the wife, ““Sign the document, or else,”” or put pressure on her. They have to receive proper legal advice. I have also made it clear that the agreement must contain"““provisions for the maintenance of any children whether by regular payments, transfers of capital or a combination of the two””." It must address the point of maintenance for children. The agreement must also contain provision"““to reconsider any regular payments in the event of a material change of circumstances””." If circumstances change, as they do over a large number of years, the parties can reconsider the minute of agreement. They can do so through the courts or, if trust has built up over the years, they can adjust it themselves with appropriate legal advice. The provisions should be enforceable in the court. As I said at the beginning, a minute of agreement, if registered in the books of council and session, can have the same impact as a court decree. I do not argue that such agreements will be for everyone. Nor do I believe that they are likely to be the norm. They will be for a minority, but it could be a significant minority. They offer a realistic and effective way of dealing with child maintenance without involving the agency. They would take people out of the system and allow them, between themselves, to come to a reasonable agreement. That is behind the idea of allowing minutes of agreement in the first instance rather than involving the agency and all the bureaucracy and problems that there have been. That is why I drafted the amendment to lay down strict conditions that deal with the problems foreseen by the Minister. I hope that he will think again. We should be prepared to allow parents who can do so to enter into such agreements and not insist on the state dictating terms because of the fear that some feckless fathers will use it to get round their responsibilities. Let us try to get that right now, otherwise the problem will continue under CMEC as it did under the CSA.