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Make non-payment of child maintenance a criminal offence

Submitted by Lynsey Hamilton on Thursday 18th November 2021

Published on Wednesday 24th November 2021

Current status: Closed

Closed: Tuesday 24th May 2022

Signatures: 1,467

Relevant Departments

Tagged with

abuse ~ Abused ~ Child ~ Children ~ Criminal ~ Domestic abuse ~ Ensure ~ Failed ~ failing ~ Parent ~ Payment ~ Penalty ~ Thousands

Petition Action

Make non-payment of child maintenance a criminal offence

Petition Details

I strongly believe the existing legislation around child maintenance payments is failing thousands of children. The legislation needs to create real penalties for non-payment, by making refusal to pay child maintenance a criminal offence.

Additional Information

My personal experience has been that current mechanisms to ensure child maintenance is paid are inadequate to extract payment from a parent who refuses to prioritise the wellbeing of their own children.

Non-payment of child maintenance is a particular issue in cases of domestic abuse, where a parent may be unable to escape abuse and poverty if child maintenance is not paid.
The consequences for failing to pay child maintenance need to be stringent. Making non-payment of child maintenance a criminal offence would be a start.


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