{"links":{"self":"https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/774768.json"},"data":{"type":"petition","id":774768,"attributes":{"action":"Make child maintenance evasion a criminal offence","background":"It would be child neglect if a parent providing full time care failed to provide a child with food, clothing or shelter. Yet, when a parent deliberately avoids child maintenance, depriving their child of those same essentials, it is not treated the same. It should be made a criminal offence.","additional_details":"We call on the Government to legally recognise the deliberate and persistent evasion of child maintenance obligations as a form of statutory child neglect. Where there is clear evidence that a parent has intentionally avoided providing financial support for their child, the Government should introduce criminal sanctions. Children should be protected from financial neglect just as they are protected from other forms of neglect.","committee_note":"","state":"open","signature_count":40,"closing_date":"2027-01-23","created_at":"2026-06-23T19:49:54.411Z","updated_at":"2026-07-27T16:20:50.000Z","rejected_at":null,"opened_at":"2026-07-23T15:03:58.838Z","closed_at":null,"moderation_threshold_reached_at":"2026-06-23T20:04:50.000Z","response_threshold_reached_at":null,"government_response_at":null,"debate_threshold_reached_at":null,"debate_scheduled_on":null,"scheduled_debate_date":null,"debate_outcome_at":null,"creator_name":"Atlanta Skye Austin","rejection":null,"government_response":null,"debate":null,"departments":[{"acronym":"DWP","name":"Department for Work and Pensions","url":"https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-work-pensions"}],"topics":[],"signatures_by_country":[{"name":"United Kingdom","code":"GB","signature_count":40}],"signatures_by_constituency":[{"name":"Basingstoke","ons_code":"E14001078","mp":"Luke Murphy MP","signature_count":1},{"name":"Birmingham Selly Oak","ons_code":"E14001099","mp":"Al Carns MP","signature_count":1},{"name":"Bridgwater","ons_code":"E14001126","mp":"Sir Ashley Fox MP","signature_count":1},{"name":"Corby and East Northamptonshire","ons_code":"E14001179","mp":"Lee Barron MP","signature_count":1},{"name":"Cramlington and Killingworth","ons_code":"E14001183","mp":"Emma Foody MP","signature_count":1},{"name":"Croydon West","ons_code":"E14001188","mp":"Sarah Jones MP","signature_count":1},{"name":"East Wiltshire","ons_code":"E14001217","mp":"Danny Kruger MP","signature_count":1},{"name":"Houghton and Sunderland South","ons_code":"E14001295","mp":"Rt Hon Bridget Phillipson MP","signature_count":1},{"name":"Jarrow and Gateshead East","ons_code":"E14001307","mp":"Kate Osborne MP","signature_count":5},{"name":"Rochester and Strood","ons_code":"E14001447","mp":"Lauren Edwards MP","signature_count":1},{"name":"Salford","ons_code":"E14001459","mp":"Rebecca Long Bailey MP","signature_count":1},{"name":"South Shields","ons_code":"E14001492","mp":"Emma Lewell MP","signature_count":9},{"name":"Sunderland Central","ons_code":"E14001531","mp":"Lewis Atkinson MP","signature_count":4},{"name":"Washington and Gateshead South","ons_code":"E14001567","mp":"Mrs Sharon Hodgson MP","signature_count":11},{"name":"Yeovil","ons_code":"E14001603","mp":"Adam Dance MP","signature_count":1}],"signatures_by_region":[{"name":"North East","ons_code":"A","signature_count":31},{"name":"North West","ons_code":"B","signature_count":1},{"name":"East Midlands","ons_code":"E","signature_count":1},{"name":"West Midlands","ons_code":"F","signature_count":1},{"name":"London","ons_code":"H","signature_count":1},{"name":"South East","ons_code":"J","signature_count":2},{"name":"South West","ons_code":"K","signature_count":3}],"other_parliamentary_business":[]}}}