Lanark and Hamilton East MP Angela Crawley this week held ‘productive’ talks with the Minister for Women, Victoria Atkins.

The meeting was held following Ms Crawley’s campaign to remove the 4% collection charge on child maintenance payments for victims of domestic abuse.

At the meeting, Angela called on the Government to use the upcoming legislation on Domestic Violence and Abuse as a means to address the charge.

It was revealed this week that the Government has received over £21 million in Child Maintenance charges since their introduction – with £17.7 million received from paying parents and £3.4 million from receiving parents.

Commenting, Angela said:

“Survivors of domestic abuse should be able to exercise their right to child maintenance without fear or financial penalty.

“One of the biggest barriers to this freedom is financial dependence and for survivors of domestic abuse using the ‘Collect-and-Pay” service is not a  matter of choice – it’s a matter of safety.

“The UK Government has already made millions of pounds from these charges and it is unacceptable that they should continue to take money from survivor’s pockets to balance the books.

“I am grateful to the Minister for her approach to the upcoming legislation, and hope the Government use the opportunity in the upcoming legislation to address this glaring injustice.”