THE Child Support Agency (CSA) will hand over its powers - and billions in unpaid child support - to its successor.

The newly-formed Child Maintenance Enforcement Commission (CMEC) today said it is unlikely to recover all of the £3.8bn its predecessor owed to single parent families.

The CSA has been dogged by criticism and controversy since it was established in 1993 to assess and enforce child support payments by absent parents.

A much delayed IT system, finally installed in 2003, only added to a back-log of cases.

Amid public outrage from single mothers and fathers, Work and Pensions Secretary John Hutton announced two years ago the CSA would be scrapped.

In an effort to avoid history repeating, its replacement has been given greater powers, allowing staff to by-pass the court system to take action against parents who refuse to pay.

However, the Commission admits it will only be able to chase up around half of the amount already outstanding.

A spokesperson for the CMEC said: “Around half of the historic debt, about £2 billion, is collectable, along with the new and tougher enforcement powers the Commission will be taking on.

“The Commission will use its powers to the full to ensure that parents do not evade their responsibilities.”

Child support payments are claimed directly from the absent mother or father but many make themselves untraceable to avoid paying out, the Commission spokesman said.

He added: “We’ve made a lot of progress in identifying people and tracking them down. But there will always be a number of people who will be able to evade the system.

“The message to every non-resident parent is that you remain responsible. We’re not letting anybody off.”

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