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Child Support and the Children Act 1989

By: Lorna Elliott LLB (hons), Barrister - Updated: 29 Jan 2024 |
 
Child Support Children Act Court Best

The Children Act 1989 is a very commonly used piece of legislation in family law. It was introduced to incorporate the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. The UN Convention provides a number of ‘Articles’ that are fundamental to children’s rights. These include Article 37, which prohibits torture, or cruel or inhumane treatment being inflicted on children (similar to Article 3 of the Human Rights Act, for adults) and Article 9, which provides that children should not be separated from their parents unless to do so would be in the best interests of the child.

When the Children Act 1989 was introduced, it created the concept of ‘parental responsibility’, which is a fundamental definition for the purpose of parent and child relationships in this country. Another very important definition in the Children Act 1989 is that of residence and contact between parents and their children. These concepts apply to all children under the age of 18 years.

The Best Interests of the Child

Section 1 of the Children Act defines the court’s role in cases involving children. If a court needs to determine a question relating to a child’s upbringing, or a child’s property or income, the court will always put the best interests of the child first.

Other Principles of the Children Act

If at all possible, a child should be brought up by and cared for, within their own family unit. Rather than take a child who is in need away from its parents, parents should be helped to look after their children at home. These types of services to assist in the child’s upbringing should be provided in partnership with the child’s parents, and must be tailored to meet the particular requirements of the child. Children’s services have to treat each child as an individual, and take into account race, religion, language and cultural differences and be accommodated accordingly. In the event that anything goes wrong, there should be accountability by local authorities.

Keeping Children Safe

Children should be protected from danger. This means that there should be effective intervention of children’s services. If it is necessary to go to court, children’s cases should be heard without unnecessary delay. Orders should only be made in cases in which it would be better to make an order than not: in other words, courts should refrain from making orders unless absolutely necessary. Children should be encouraged to contribute to decisions made about them, and to be kept informed about what is happening to them.

Child Support Laws

The Children Act gives parents parental responsibility for their children, which is not negated by the fact that the parent lives apart from their child. This concept allows parents who no longer live with their child on a day to day basis still to be consulted in decisions relating to their children’s future. This also means that a parent is responsible financially for a child’s future and, as a result, liable to be pursued by the Child Maintenance Service.

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oliviastephen02 - 29-Jan-24 @ 9:17 AM
Parul - Your Question:
Hi I ammarried to UK citizen guy in 2014 and we got 1 child UK citizen.I came india in 2016 for holidays and I am holding spouse visa but my husband fight with me because of his family problem and after few days he send me divorce papers in India and he is not ready to stay with me and my son any more.he not looking after for my son or nor me.my visa got expired so now for my son's better future I want come back to Uk.my all earned money is with my ex -husband.so what should I do now.please help me in this matter.i need your kind help.

Our Response:
I am sorry to hear this. Unfortunately, if your spouse visa has expired you would be unable to return to the UK, unless you apply for a visitor visa. However, this will not allow you to work. You may be able to apply for a work visa, but this would have to be independent of your marriage status. I can only advise you to seek legal guidance from your home country in order to find out what your options are.
ChildSupportLaws - 13-Oct-17 @ 10:48 AM
HiI am parul Patel and I married to UK citizen guy in 2014 and we got 1 child UK citizen .I came india in 2016 for holidays and I am holding spouse visa but my husband fight with me because of his family problem and after few days he send me divorce papers in India and he is not ready to stay with me and my son any more.he not looking after for my sonor nor me .my visa got expired so now for my son's betterfuture I want come back to Uk .my all earned money is with my ex -husband .so what should I do now.please help me in this matter.i need your kind help.
Parul patel - 6-Oct-17 @ 7:02 AM
MBIHI - Your Question:
Where can I get legal help to write a letter for dispute when threatened by CMC agency by relentless letters and phonically and text?"I don't know what are my human rights upon this since father is treated as uncouth appendage noteworthy being a father mother seeks to benefit from money ordered by CMS after mother being given custody of child. Father distanced and counted not significant peripheral objectI would like to see my child and live with him but mother has applied for absolute extinction of father contactshould I continue paying for ghost child mother don't like paternal relationship with child but his money

Our Response:
Regardless of whether you see your child or not, you are by law co-responsible for helping towards his day-to-day financial needs. Child maintenance and child access have no connection to each other, meaning a non-resident parent may be unemployed for instance and not be able to afford to pay child maintenance, but this should not affect access to his child. Likewise, the other way around, a NRP should still support his child, even if the NRP doesn't see the child whether it's through his/her own choice, or whether the resident parent for whatever reason, stops access. The only recourse then is to take the matter to court. A court will then decide whether it is in the child's best interests to have a relationship with the NRP and can issue a court order forcing the other parent to concede. Once a court order is in place, then both parents are bound by law to stick to it. Therefore, I would 'not' avoid paying child maintenance, you will only accrue arrears and your argument will not hold water in court. If you want to see your child, you will have to request mediation and if your ex refuses take the matter to court.
ChildSupportLaws - 4-May-17 @ 11:47 AM
where can I get legal help to write a letter for dispute when threatened by CMC agency by relentless letters and phonically and text?" I don't know what are my human rights upon this since father is treated as uncouth appendage noteworthy being a father mother seeks to benefit from money ordered by CMS after mother being given custody of child. Father distanced and counted not significant peripheral object I would like to see my child and live with him but mother has applied for absolute extinction of father contact should I continue paying for ghost child mother don't like paternal relationship with child but his money
MBIHI - 3-May-17 @ 2:13 PM
steve - Your Question:
Hi, my ex wife stopped me seeing my children back in July 2014 even though there is contact orderin place, I have always paid towards my children through csa for the last 10 years.I have asked for a break from csa so the £70 per week could be best spent on a solicitor to enforce the order, but they won't budge.are they breaching my human rights (right to family) & also my children's rights to a father?many thanksstephen

Our Response:
Unfortunately, there is no relationship between payment of child maintenance and access to your children. All non-resident parents are legally responsible for supporting their children whether they see them/ have access or not. In order to apply for the contact order to be enforced you will need to take the matter to court. If you cannot afford legal fees you can self-litigate, please see Bar Council guidance here. If your ex has breached the order then the court can enforce this and if the breach is considered to be unreasonable the courts can punish the mother as a result.
ChildSupportLaws - 3-Jun-16 @ 11:41 AM
hi, my ex wife stopped me seeing my children back in July 2014 even though there is contact order in place, I have always paid towards my children through csa for the last 10 years. I have asked for a break from csa so the £70 per week could be best spent on a solicitor to enforce the order, but they won't budge. are they breaching my human rights (right to family) & also my children's rights to a father? many thanks stephen
steve - 2-Jun-16 @ 2:55 PM
Shell - Your Question:
My daughters father is about to re marry. He currently sees our daughter regularly. He also sometimes works away and wants our daughter still to attend his house on his contact days and be cared for by his new wife. Do I have to allow this?

Our Response:
You don't have to allow it. However, your ex would have the right to pursue this through mediation or the courts if you cannot justify your reasons for wishing to keep your child away from his new wife (i.e simple dislike of her would not be a good enough reason). If it went to court, then you would have to substantiate your reasons why and the court would make a decision beased on what it thinks is the best interests of your daughter.
ChildSupportLaws - 18-Jan-16 @ 11:57 AM
My daughters father is about to re marry. He currently sees our daughter regularly. He also sometimes works away and wants our daughter still to attend his house on his contact days and be cared for by his new wife. Do I have to allow this?
Shell - 17-Jan-16 @ 2:46 PM
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