Mortgage ban for 'deadbeat dads' who won't pay up

Those who ignore their responsibilities could face being barred from taking out a mortgage or a loan.

"Deadbeat dads" who cheat the system also face the prospect of having their passports confiscated and money taken directly from their bank accounts to cover payments.

The measures are contained in the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Bill, unveiled as part of efforts to replace the Child Support Agency, which failed to collect millions in maintenance payments.

Its replacement, the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission, will have unprecedented power to chase absent parents for payments.

Information will be shared with credit reference agencies as part of the Government's crackdown.

Work and Pensions Secretary John Hutton said: "If you're not paying maintenance for your kids it's going to affect your credit rating.

"So you won't get the credit card and you're not going to find it easy to get the mortgage.

"So all of these things added up together are going to make it much, much harder for people to escape, to hide behind bureaucracy and to avoid their legal, moral and social responsibilities."

The Bill also spelt out new powers to be used against those who repeatedly refuse to pay up.

The Commission will be able to impose curfews, confiscate passports, and take money directly from offenders' bank accounts.

Gross weekly income, rather than net, will be used to calculate maintenance to limit opportunities for manipulating income levels.

Absent parents could be charged with the costs of tracking them down and also "named and shamed" on a government website.

Families still owed money by nonpayers will be asked if the culprit's picture and details can be published on the Internet.

The first are expected to be shown at the end of this month.

Critics branded the new approach a "gimmick". They said it would not sort out problems which have left tens of thousands of families struggling without money due to them.

The Tories complained that the cases of many families would remain stuck in the CSA's failing computer systems until 2013 under the Government's plans to gradually shift files over to the new body.

Tory work and pensions spokesman Philip Hammond said: "The focus is all on enforcement measures - but one of the Government's previous powers to seize driving licences was used a grand total of five times last year.

"We need a robust assessment and administration-process in place and there are no signs of that.

"There's a real danger that the new body could become another CSA in all but name."

The Liberal Democrats claimed the measures could take up to six years to come into force.

Figures reveal that by last year the CSA had a backlog of 300,000 cases and debts of £3billion.