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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
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Polly Toynbee

Fathers are condemning their children to poverty. Why do ministers let them get away with it?

A mother and son walking on the pavement holding hands
The National Audit Office says many mothers, tired by incompetence and attrition, give up and walk away in frustration with no maintenance arrangement. Photograph: Gary Hider/Alamy

Men allow men to behave badly to women. That pervasive misogynist bias is often obscured by the optics of more women in boardrooms, in politics, and as public experts. But follow the money: it always tells you where power lies.

From its misbegotten conception in 1993, I have followed the fate of the notorious Child Support Agency, now rebranded but worsened as the Child Maintenance Service (CMS).

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