header-logo header-logo

Home Login E-newsletter About us
19 March 2009 / David Burrows
Issue: 7361 / Categories: Features , Family
printer mail-detail

Enforcement matters

© Copyright LexisNexis 2026. All Rights Reserved.

Part 2: David Burrows reports on the spurious approach to committal application

* * * * * *

When it comes to enforcement of a liability order by committal in the magistrates' court the truly Kafkaesque nature of the Child Support Act 1991 (CSA 1991) legislation comes to the fore.

Until now few parents have been sent to prison. However, the Child Support Agency (CSA)/Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission now want to demonstrate their virility: they have been told that £3bn may be owing and they are out to get as much as possible of it back— however tattered may be the evidence of debt, however doubtful of fair or safe enforcement may be their confused figures.

Once the liability order is made, committal will soon follow; and if the figure is objectively wrong or disputed, ie arguably wrong, what is the possible justice of a person being sent to prison?

I doubt there is any other jurisdiction in which a claimant can say, unchallenged, that he is owed £10,000 and get a court order

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Read All
NLJ Career Profile: Daniel Burbeary, Michelman Robinson

NLJ Career Profile: Daniel Burbeary, Michelman Robinson

Daniel Burbeary, office managing partner of Michelman Robinson, discusses launching in London, the power of the law, and what the kitchen can teach us about litigating

Wedlake Bell—Rebecca Christie

Wedlake Bell—Rebecca Christie

Firm welcomes partner with specialist expertise in family and art law

Birketts—Álvaro Aznar

Birketts—Álvaro Aznar

Dual-qualified partner joins international private client team

NEWS
Read All
NLJ this week: Driving test fraudsters steer towards jail
Cheating in driving tests is surging—and courts are responding firmly. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort Law School charts a rise in impersonation and tech-assisted fraud, with 2,844 attempts recorded in a year
NLJ this week: Deepfakes demand data law muscle
As AI-generated ‘deepfake’ images proliferate, the law may already have the tools to respond. In NLJ this week, Jon Belcher of Excello Law argues that such images amount to personal data processing under UK GDPR
NLJ this week: 40% penalty for coercive control
In a striking financial remedies ruling, the High Court cut a wife’s award by 40% for coercive and controlling behaviour. Writing in NLJ this week, Chris Bryden and Nicole Wallace of 4 King’s Bench Walk analyse LP v MP [2025] EWFC 473
NLJ this week: Mbappé row spotlights ‘ethics bonuses’
A €60.9m award to Kylian Mbappé has refocused attention on football’s controversial ‘ethics bonus’ clauses. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Estelle Ivanova of Valloni Attorneys at Law examines how such provisions sit within French labour law
NLJ this week: CPR tweak closes third-party disclosure gap
A seemingly dry procedural update may prove potent. In his latest 'Civil way' column for NLJ this week, Stephen Gold explains that new CPR 31.12A—part of the 193rd update—fills a ‘lacuna’ exposed in McLaren Indy v Alpa Racing
Copyright © 2026 LexisNexis
back-to-top-scroll