G4S awarded contract to run Child Maintenance Options

G4S, the world's third largest private sector employer, has been awarded the contract to run the Child Maintenance Options service.  The contract was previously held by Capita at their call centre in Rotherham.

The contract, which is worth £18m over five years, is to deliver the specialist contact centre for separated parents.  This advises separated parents about ways to arrange maintenance, with an emphasis on promoting mutual (family-based) arrangements between parents rather than use of the government assessment and collection service. Advice and information is provided by phone, text and online services.

A 2012 study indicated that between July 2008 and January 2012, 89,000 effective family-based maintenance arrangements were made or changed following contact between a parent and Child Maintenance Options. 592,000 parents were contacted by the service during this period.

While the continuation of Child Maintenance Options service is welcome, the award of the contract to G4S is surprising, given the company's poor performance at the Olympics, not to mention the current controversy over its involvement in providing security services in Palestine.  At its 2013 Annual Congress in Perth the Scottish Trades Union Council (STUC) extended the scope of its Palestine boycott campaign to include G4S.