HL Deb 01 April 1996 vol 571 c13WA
Earl Russell

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether, in the light of their commitment to supporting marriage expressed in Clause 1 of the Family Law Bill, they will compensate those falsely identified by the Child Support Agency as absent parents for injury caused to their marriages.

Lord Mackay of Ardbrecknish

A new type of consolatory payment will be introduced. In the tiny proportion of cases where the Child Support Agency is culpable of sending a maintenance enquiry form to a person who is not the parent of the child (or children) in question, that person will be entitled to a consolatory payment for the upset and inconvenience caused by this error. This new payment will be introduced from 1st April 1996.