CHILDREN GOING WITHOUT MAINTENANCE

Children cannot be forgotten amidst the coronavirus pandemic. Where a parent-with-care is not receiving payments or where calculations have been reduced because a non-residents parent’s income has been cut, the UK Government must step in and provide Minimum Maintenance Payments directly.

Most non-resident parents are continuing to support their children during this difficult time. But some are using the pandemic to unjustly lower calculations and halt payments altogether. With almost half of single-parent families living in poverty, the UK Government cannot simply abandon them. An increase in Child Benefit and an MMP will protect children from the hardship caused by the pandemic.

I wrote to Thérèse Coffey (Secretary of State for Work and Pensions) on the 30th of March. I still haven’t received a response. I hope she is considering these proposals carefully and looking seriously at how these vulnerable children can be supported.

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