Table Of ContentLeanne McCarthy-Cotter
The 1991 Child
Support Act
Failure
Foreseeable
& Foreseen
The 1991 Child Support Act
Leanne McCarthy-Cotter
The 1991 Child
Support Act
Failure Foreseeable and Foreseen
Leanne McCarthy-Cotter
University of Sheffield
Sheffield, UK
ISBN 978-3-319-98760-6 ISBN 978-3-319-98761-3 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-98761-3
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018950731
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A
cknowledgements
One of the pleasures in having a book published is the opportunity to
thank publicly those who have provided support, advice, assistance, and
encouragement. Firstly I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation
to those individuals who agreed to be interviewed for my research. Their
willingness to discuss their thoughts and experiences at length, as well
as their hospitality and encouragement, not only provided invaluable
insight, but also a source of inspiration that continued throughout my
writing.
I would like to express the warmest gratitude to Professor Pete
Dorey for inspiring my love for the subject, to Doctor Mark Donovan
for encouraging my enthusiasm for academia, and to Professor Hugh
Compston for challenging my approaches and assumptions and in so
doing making me a better scholar.
I extend my gratitude to Professor Nick Wikeley for generously pro-
viding me with unpublished consultation responses, and to Harvey
Woofle for kindly sending me a copy of the documentary series “Can’t
Pay, Won’t Pay”.
I would like to thank my close and long-suffering friend Matthew
Close, who has painstakingly proofread countless drafts. He provided
invaluably constructive criticism and friendly advice throughout my
research.
I would like to thank my wonderful family who each helped in their
own unique way: my Mam, Debbie, for her untiring support and love,
and for always knowing when I needed her; my Father, Ian, for his daily
v
vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
inappropriate interruptions that unavoidably made me laugh; my Sister,
Laura, for keeping me grounded and never failing to make me smile; my
Nephew and Niece, Harley and Thea, for allowing me to use them as
an escape from writing; and to my wonderful late Grandparents, Barbara
and Bampa, who I miss deeply, but whose love and encouragement I
continue to feel.
It is only right to end with thanks to my Husband, Liam, who above
all others helped make this book possible. I am sincerely grateful for his
honest and enlightening views and advice, his willingness to suffer my
often seemingly endless monologues, as well as his unwavering patience,
support, dedication, and love. Liam, I know what love is because of you.
It is to him that this book is dedicated.
c
ontents
1 Approaches to Policy Analysis and the Stages Heuristic 1
2 The Background: ‘Setting the Scene’ 33
3 Problem Definition: Multiple ‘Problems’, Different
Frames, and False Representations 45
4 Policy Formation: ‘Dual-Policy Transfer’ and the 1991
Child Support Act 73
5 Policy Formation: The Imbalance of Power Within
the Core Executive 93
6 The Flawed Legislative Process 133
7 Implementation and the 1991 Child Support Act 173
8 An Evaluation of the Failure of the 1991 Child
Support Act 191
9 Conclusion 225
vii
viii CONTENTS
Appendix A—List of Organisations Commenting
on the Government’s White Paper Children Come First 231
Bibliography 235
Index 257
A
bbreviAtions
ACCDR Association of County Court and District Registrars
ACSEA American Child Support Enforcement Amendment
CAPE Campaign Against Parental Exploitation
CPAG Child Poverty Action Group
CSA Child Support Agency
CSES Child Support Enforcement System
DHSS Department of Health and Social Security
DSS Department of Social Security
FOI Freedom of Information
LAG The Legal Action Group
LCO Lord Chancellor’s Office
MP Member of Parliament
PE Punctuated Equilibrium
PM Prime Minister
RCT Rational Choice Theory
SPADS Special Political Advisors
UK United Kingdom
US(A) United States (of America)
WBU Welfare Benefits Unit
ix
l f
ist of igures
Fig. 1.1 Types of study of public policy-making (adapted from
Hogwood and Gunn 1981) 2
Fig. 1.2 Reconnecting the study of policy analysis 3
Fig. 1.3 The cycle of policy-making 13
Fig. 1.4 Feedback in the policy cycle 22
Fig. 3.1 Layers of problem definition 48
Fig. 3.2 Layers of problem definition as applied to Riker’s nerve gas
example 49
Fig. 3.3 Layers of problem definition as applied to the 1991 Child
Support Act 58
Fig. 4.1 Coherent dual policy transfer 84
Fig. 4.2 Incoherent dual policy transfer 85
Fig. 4.3 Dual policy transfer and the 1991 Child Support Act 88
Fig. 5.1 Kingdon’s model of policy streams 123
Fig. 5.2 Failing to open the policy window 124
Fig. 5.3 Five streams, one window 124
Fig. 8.1 Criteria for ‘perfect legislation’ 222
xi
