Families Without Fathers SIR,—In her book Fatherless Families, published two
years ago, Margaret Wynn focused attention on the difficulties of women who are left by themselves to bring up children, all too frequently in straitened financial circumstances. Some relief can be afforded in those cases in which the fathers of the children are liable to make maintenance payments, but the estab- lishing of that liability and the enforcement of any payments ordered by courts are not always free from difficulty. One particular complaint is that the statu- tory limits on the maximum amounts that a magis- trates' court can order by way of maintenance are
too low—at present they are 10s. a week for a wife and 12 10s. a week for a child. The Home Secretary has now appointed a committee, of which I am chairman, to examine this problem.
The terms of reference of the committee are as follows: To examine the financial limits prescribed by statute for orders which may be made in magis- trates' courts for the maintenance of wives and children, to consider the appropriate machinery for adjusting such limits to changing circumstances and to make recommendations.' These terms of reference include not only the limits which apply to matri- monial proceedings, but also those which apply to guardianship and affiliation proceedings in magis- trates' courts. The main problem the committee has to consider is how far the limits create hardship by restricting the amounts that magistrates' courts actually order. Also whether, if the limits were
raised, courts would be likely, having regard to the needs and resources of the parties concerned, to order larger maintenance payments.
The committee is anxious to obtain information about particular cases in which, but for the limit, the court might have ordered payment of a larger amount or in which proceedings might have been brought before the magistrates' court instead of in the High Court. A special aspect of this problem is that if an unrealistically high amount of mainten- ance is ordered, it may prove difficult to enforce the order.
My purpose in writing is to ask if anyone with in- formation of the kind described above would send it in writing to the Secretary, Committee on Statu- tory Maintenance Limits, Home Office, Whitehall. It will be of the greatest help it information about specific cases could include details of the family background, the resources of the parties, the existence of a matrimonial home, size of family, rent, family budget and any other relevant factors. All informa- tion received will be kept strictly confidential. Nothing in the committee's final report will enable individual cases to be identified. Any other comment or suggestions about matters coming within the com- mittee's terms of reference will also be welcome. JEAN GRAHAM HALL
Home Office, W hitehall, London, SW I
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