Welfare Reform Bill

I hope that I may be forgiven for intervening but I am very impressed by the arguments that have been put forward. The Minister mentioned that the administrative decision would be quicker and less resource-intensive, but I am sitting here thinking that that is the problem. The reason that a court should be involved in these major matters is precisely that a court would look at all sides of the issue and, I imagine, take evidence from both sides, including from the father who is going to all these lengths to avoid playing for the child’s upkeep. That is why a court would be the right place to make these decisions. It is unusual and, one might say, apparently bizarre for a father to refuse to support his child. There may well be major issues lying behind his determination but those issues should at least be heard. I believe that they would be heard in a court but I will be corrected if I am wrong about that.