Child support dodgers to lose passports and driving licences
Absent fathers who fail to pay towards their children's upbringing could have their passports and driving licences summarily seized by bureaucrats. It represents the first time civil servants and Government agencies will be able to bypass the normal legal process in this way.At present, the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission must apply to the courts to have a negligent father's driving licence or passport cancelled. But under legislation being unveiled by Work and Pensions Secretary James Purnell tomorrow, civil servants will be able to sign the orders themselves.