Whilst doing my news update this morning, I came across two contrasting stories on the subject of child support, one from each side of the Atlantic.

The first story appeared in the Lancashire Telegraph, and is the usual kind of depressing child support fare that we have all seen so often: the Child Support Agency failing for five years to recover child support from the non-resident parent, and the parent with care's MP demanding an overhaul of the child support system. As the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission point out in the story, the system is being overhauled, but will that put an end to stories like this? I doubt it.

Perhaps, as I have indicated here before, we should take a look at the way they do things in America. It has been reported by nj.com that New Jersey sheriffs served child support warrants on no fewer than 864 delinquent parents in a three-day nonsupport sweep that began on the 1st of December. The sweep is conducted twice a year, and resulted in $165,000 being collected. Now, THAT is the way to recover child support...