Petition · past parliament

Make child maintenance mandatory and class as a legitimate debt.

Rejected 21 signatures

What the petition asks

Make this a debt and chase those who miss payments just like company’s do with credit cards, loans etc…
These are human beings, for a credit card you will be chased and threatened with court action if you do not pay, why isn’t this the same for a parent and a child?

Why it was rejected

The UK Government or Parliament was already taking the action it asked for.

The Child Maintenance Service already takes action if child maintenance goes unpaid.

You can find out more about child maintenance enforcement here: https://www.gov.uk/manage-child-maintenance-case/nonpayment-what-happens

Timeline

3 Feb 2022 Petition opened for signatures
8 Feb 2022 Rejected by the Petitions Committee

Key facts

Signatures 21
Status Rejected
Rejected 8 Feb 2022

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