What if the PWC does not co-operate?
Up to 70% of PWCs do not co-operate with the CSA. Most have nothing to gain and a lot to lose. Unless the maintenance is assessed at more than their benefits and successfully collected then the PWC will be no better off. They may be worse off, losing ‘passported’ benefits – free school meals, prescriptions etc. They may be a lot worse off. Benefits should not stop until maintenance starts but this does sometimes happen. There can be terrible problems if maintenance is not paid or is paid irregularly. The CSA does not always hand on payments promptly. Even where the PWC is not worse off financially they are likely to have a lot of grief dealing with the agency. This can destroy even friendly relationships between AP, children and PWC. If the PWC does not co-operate then benefits may be reduced but the PWC and children can still be better off, especially in those fraudulent cases where the AP makes undeclared cash payments. The benefit reduction is called a ‘reduced benefit direction’ an
