Child maintenance officials will be able to confiscate driving licences and passports from “deadbeat dads” without going to court, under legislation going before Parliament this week.

Under the remit of the old Child Support Agency, enforcement workers could apply for a court order to commandeer the driving licences of parents who refuse to pay for their children. Last year Parliament passed an Act to give the new Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission (CMEC) the same power with relation to passports.

The Welfare Reform Bill, which has its second reading in the House of Commons tomorrow, will enable the commission to bypass the courts and order absent parents to give up their driving licences and passports until they have met their financial obligations. The Department for Work and Pensions said the move would be a “last resort”after other means of securing cash for children have failed.

James Purnell, the Work and Pensions secretary, said: “We are supporting parents in these tough times, but for those who choose not to support their own kids, we will not stand by and do nothing. If a parent refuses to pay up then we will stop them travelling abroad or even using their car.

“We want fair rules for everybody and that means giving people the support they need, but in return expecting them to live up to their responsibilities.”

The Welfare Reform Bill also includes measures to require many single parents and people on incapacity benefit to seek work.

Steve Webb, work and pensions spokesman for the Liberal Democrats, said: “For more than a decade the child support system has been a shambles. Despite endless reorganisations and crackdowns, billions of pounds of maintenance has had to be written off.

“If the CSA was working there would be no need for this ridiculous posturing. The reaction of this Government to a failing policy is to try to sound tougher.

“Talk can never be a substitute for a coherent, effective policy that gets money to the children that need it.”

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