Child Support Policy

Abstract

The child maintenance system in the UK has been plagued by problems since the inception of the Child Support Agency (CSA) in 1993. The scheme established by the 1991 Child Support Act was subject to a succession of reforms throughout the 1990s. In April 2006 the Department for Work and Pensions issued an Invitation to Tender for a project to undertake international comparisons of child maintenance schemes covering the following countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada (Ontario), Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, the UK and the USA. It was hoped that the evidence from this project would contribute to thinking about the redesign of the child maintenance system following the announcement of the Henshaw review - which was presented to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions while this study was in the field.