The Commissioner who will lead the new organisation which replaces the much criticised Child Support Agency has now been appointed.

The new organisation is to be called the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission (CMEC). Its task will be to provide a simpler yet better way of assessing and collecting child maintenance. The first Commissioner is to be Stephen Geraghty who was called in to make much needed improvements at the Child Support Agency in 2005.

One of the main proposals for change is that parents should be encouraged to reach agreements between themselves over child maintenance whenever possible. However, CMEC will have the power to enforce payments if the parents can’t reach an agreement. It will also have more authority to pursue debt.

A spokesman for the Department of Work and Pensions said: "Parents have an absolute responsibility to support their children. These reforms will help ensure that this happens. Our proposals to get visibly tougher on enforcement send out a clear signal that non-payment of maintenance will not be tolerated.
 
“And, above all, they will deliver a system that properly meets the needs of the parents and children who depend on it, helping to ensure that families and children do not slide into poverty when parents split up."

Mr Geraghty said: “The Commission marks a new era in child maintenance. It gives us the operational freedom to develop new services to support parents to take more responsibility for their children.”

CMEC is being introduced as part of the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Bill which is now awaiting final approval from Parliament.