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Children Are Paying the Price: Statistics, Law, and Survivor Voices

  • Deanna Newell
  • Mar 25
  • 3 min read

I’m an autistic parent raising two autistic children. Broken agreements, financial manipulation, and legal loopholes are pushing vulnerable children into poverty.


Child maintenance must be fair and realistic. For business owners, sole directors, sole traders, and shareholders, contributions should be at least £300 per child, taking into account prior divorce settlements, houses, pensions, and savings—so paying parents are not forced to overpay, but children still receive the support they need.


PAYE parents are already assessed fairly, but loopholes allow some to pay as little as £83 per child. These gaps must be closed. Every child deserves stability, support, and a fair chance to thrive.


A System That Can Be Misused


After separation, many families face coercion, financial control, or other forms of abuse. Parents are left shielding their children while navigating a system that is meant to protect them—but often falls short.


Patterns That Harm Children


Private maintenance agreements are often:-


  • Broken or delayed

  • Paid inconsistently or incompletely


When parents turn to the Child Maintenance Service (CMS), they expect fairness, enforcement, and protection. Instead, they face delays, loopholes, and inconsistencies that destabilise families further.


For children with additional needs, these gaps are especially damaging.


Financial instability disrupts routines, limits access to therapy and support, and increases stress and anxiety.


Key Statistics on CMS and Abuse


  • 77% of primary carers using CMS report experiencing domestic abuse

  • 45% say CMS involvement worsened the impact of that abuse (Source: Gingerbread)

  • Research from Surviving Economic Abuse shows financial control is a common post-separation tactic, including withholding, delaying, or manipulation of payments


The Law Exists. However Gaps Remain


  • Children Act 1989, Section 1: Child welfare is the court’s paramount consideration.

  • Children Act 1989, Schedule 1: Provides legal financial support for children after separation.

  • Domestic Abuse Act 2021: Recognises economic abuse, including manipulation of income or child maintenance.

  • CMS Regulations: Include Collect & Pay and enforcement tools, but gaps persist.


Child Maintenance Reality: UK 2025


  • Abandoned children: Thousands go hungry, cold, and without school supplies

  • Broken promises: 26% of paying parents pay nothing. £756m unpaid since 2012

  • System loopholes: Self-employed people, directors, and shareholders may contribute as little as £83 per month, leaving children underfunded

  • Debt of innocence: Children pay for adult financial loopholes


Voices in Parliament Are Speaking Out


  • Kirith Entwistle: Highlighted CMS misuse after separation

  • Jess Phillips: Warned of financial systems being used to maintain control

  • Harriet Harman: Advocated stronger recognition of economic abuse

  • Caroline Nokes: Called for inquiries into financial inequality


Organisations Seeing the Impact First-Hand


  • Gingerbread: Links CMS failures with child poverty

  • Surviving Economic Abuse: Campaigns on post-separation financial control

  • Refuge: Documents money as a tool of ongoing hardship

  • Women’s Aid: Raises concerns about financial manipulation. 


Financial Abuse Is Real


Delayed payments, withheld payments, and manipulated income are not administrative errors, they are recognised as economic abuse under the Domestic Abuse Act 2021.


Unchecked, these practices leave children without essential support, disrupting their routines, stability, and wellbeing.


Call to Action: Reform Child Maintenance Now


Children deserve:-


  • Accurate parental income assessment that reflects true financial capacity

  • Strong enforcement with meaningful consequences for non-payment

  • Recognition that financial abuse is abuse

  • Minimum support thresholds to prevent poverty

  • Protections for survivors to reduce repeated trauma


No loopholes. No delays. No excuses.


£300 minimum per month, per child for business owners, sole directors, sole traders, and shareholders, taking into account prior settlements, houses, pensions, and savings, so paying parents are not overburdened.


Every child deserves stability, support, and a fair chance to thrive.

Deanna Newell Family Law

Advocacy for truth-tellers, survivors, and the children who deserve better

 
 
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