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Child Maintenance and Other Payments Bill

My Lords, to be clear, there is an overriding obligation to maximise the number of effective child maintenance arrangements in place. That is the anchor of this legislation. We have argued that we believe that voluntary arrangements, where they are appropriate, are the best arrangements for people to enter into because research shows that they are more sustainable and can be more flexible. Indeed, inherent in them is the concept that the two parents will engage and there will be a dialogue. That is part of a wider backdrop that we should welcome. We want to encourage voluntary arrangements where they are appropriate. Where they are not appropriate, we want to help and support people into the statutory system. That is the thrust of this legislation. I had hoped that it was understood that that was the basis on which we had argued for this to date.