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10/09/2008
Minister Launches Campaign To 'Stop Robbing Children'
Social Development Minister Margaret Ritchie, MLA has launched a new campaign to win the hearts and minds and get money for children from Non-Resident Parents.
The advertising campaign targets non-resident parents who will not pay child maintenance, in a bid to ensure that money will flow more quickly to children.
Margaret Ritchie said: "More than 12,000 children in Northern Ireland are not getting the correct level of child maintenance. They are often suffering unnecessary poverty. That simply is not fair."
The campaign is built upon a strap-line: 'Are you robbing your child?'. The Minister stressed the importance of parental responsibility and how the failure of some parents to provide adequate support for their children hurts. She said: "This campaign is about changing attitudes. It is about sending out the simple message that, even though times are tough for many parents, not supporting your children is wrong.
"I am giving a very clear message to those parents who are not accepting their financial responsibilities for their children that there is no hiding place. We will use all the powers at our disposal to track down those who are determined to avoid or evade paying for their child."
The Minister said that the powers that the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Division have at their disposal allow effective measures to be used against people who deny their children the support that is due to them.
Margaret Ritchie added: "My Child Maintenance and Enforcement Division has replaced the former N.I. Child Support Agency and has been streamlining operations in a more focused way to recover child maintenance payments."
(JM/KMcA)
The advertising campaign targets non-resident parents who will not pay child maintenance, in a bid to ensure that money will flow more quickly to children.
Margaret Ritchie said: "More than 12,000 children in Northern Ireland are not getting the correct level of child maintenance. They are often suffering unnecessary poverty. That simply is not fair."
The campaign is built upon a strap-line: 'Are you robbing your child?'. The Minister stressed the importance of parental responsibility and how the failure of some parents to provide adequate support for their children hurts. She said: "This campaign is about changing attitudes. It is about sending out the simple message that, even though times are tough for many parents, not supporting your children is wrong.
"I am giving a very clear message to those parents who are not accepting their financial responsibilities for their children that there is no hiding place. We will use all the powers at our disposal to track down those who are determined to avoid or evade paying for their child."
The Minister said that the powers that the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Division have at their disposal allow effective measures to be used against people who deny their children the support that is due to them.
Margaret Ritchie added: "My Child Maintenance and Enforcement Division has replaced the former N.I. Child Support Agency and has been streamlining operations in a more focused way to recover child maintenance payments."
(JM/KMcA)
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Child Maintenance Payments Increase £3.2m
An extra 731 children have benefited from an increase of £3.2m in child maintenance payments across Northern Ireland throughout 2013/14, it has been announced. The Northern Ireland Child Maintenance Service said 22,123 children benefited from Child maintenance payments totalling £27.2m.
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Parents have less than two weeks to tell HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) their 16-19 year-old is continuing education or training, or their Child Benefit payments will stop. Hundreds of thousands of teenagers will decide on their future this week as they receive their GCSE results on Thursday (22 August 2024).
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More Work Needed To Tackle Child Poverty
According to recent research more needs to be done to get children in Northern Ireland out of Poverty, with the British Government being blamed for the elimination target slipping. The charity Barnardos has revealed that two areas in Northern Ireland have two of the highest rates of child poverty in the UK.
01 June 2006
Free help with Child Trust Funds at Big into Baby show
Anyone with any questions regarding what best to do with the £250 voucher given to every child born on or after September 1 2002, should make their way to the Big into Baby show at the King's Hall this weekend, where HM Revenue & Customs staff from the Child Trust Fund Office will be on hand to answer any queries you have about investing the vouche
Free help with Child Trust Funds at Big into Baby show
Anyone with any questions regarding what best to do with the £250 voucher given to every child born on or after September 1 2002, should make their way to the Big into Baby show at the King's Hall this weekend, where HM Revenue & Customs staff from the Child Trust Fund Office will be on hand to answer any queries you have about investing the vouche
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