It can be difficult to find consensus on thorny issues, but there is little argument about the fact that growing up in poverty is bad for children, and there is no doubt that the UK's level of child poverty (4.5 million) must be tackled.
Children from single-parent households are almost twice as likely as those in couple-parent households to be in poverty (43 per cent compared with 26 per cent).
One part of the puzzle that has been overlooked, and yet has the power to improve the lives of the 3.8 million children in separated families, in Great Britain.
It's a child's legal right to be supported financially by both parents, yet around 40 per cent of separated parents don't have any arrangement in place, and of those who do, almost 60 per cent do not get the full amount. Since 2012, when the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) began, £715.1 million in unpaid maintenance has accumulated.
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