Petition · past parliament

Non-resident parents who fail to pay child maintenance should be criminalised.

Rejected 17 signatures

What the petition asks

Non-resident parents with the financial means who repeatedly fail to financially support their child/ren should be prosecuted for child neglect.
Failure to contribute towards housing,clothing and feeding your child/ren constitutes child abuse and should be criminalised accordingly.

Why it was rejected

It was not clear what the petition asked the UK Government or Parliament to do.

It is already possible for people who don't pay child maintenance to be sent to prison for non-payment, or to have deductions taken from their bank account, their earnings or from their benefits. There is more information about this here:

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/relationships/children-and-young-people/child-maintenance/child-maintenance-2012-scheme/child-maintenance-enforcement/child-maintenance-enforcement-where-to-start/

If you could be more specific about the change that you would like to see, you could start a new petition.

Timeline

24 Mar 2016 Petition opened for signatures
30 Mar 2016 Rejected by the Petitions Committee

Key facts

Signatures 17
Status Rejected
Rejected 30 Mar 2016

Follow this petition

Sign in to get an email when the government responds, a debate is scheduled or held, or the petition closes.

Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.