ABSTRACT
This chapter considers some of the key twists and discusses the legislation that has taken within the context of ‘responsibilisation’ and reprivatisation and commitments to eradicate or at least reduce child poverty. In particular, it considers the role which child support can play in raising children out of poverty, a phenomenon which grew in the latter part of the twentieth century to become a blight upon the life chances of almost one in three children. The chapter draws a distinction between the different types of families which may need to resort to the child support system. It then considers whether the new emphasis upon private agreement is compatible with the drive to eradicate child poverty. As the child support legislation was being reshaped with renewed emphasis upon tackling poverty, the Child Poverty Unit was established (in 2007) with the stated government policy and of halving child poverty by 2010 and ‘eradicating’ child poverty by 2020.
