Government crackdown on parents who don't pay maintenance

In the week that the government will reveal the details of the body to replace the Child Support Agency. The Works and Pensions Secretary John Hutton has told how they plan to crackdown on parents who don't take responsibility for their children.

Mr Hutton told a television programme that the government is intending to bring in a raft of measures aimed at encouraging parents to meet their financial responsibilities. Initiatives include forcing fathers to be listed on birth certificates and 'naming and shaming' on the internet, absent parents who refuse to pay child maintenance.

'We've got to come down like a ton of bricks on those parents who are not meeting their responsibilities to their families,' said Mr Hutton. 'Although relationships end, responsibilities to your kids don't. We've got to make life uncomfortable for the non-resident parents who aren't paying for their kids.'

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