THE call by Bolton councillor Barbara Ronson to scrap the Child Support Agency will find echoes all around the country. And even the fact that it was made at the Liberal Democrat Conference with a General Election in the offing should not detract from its common sense.

Since its inception, the CSA has been surrounded by controversy and criticism. Desperate fathers, harassed mothers and bewildered children all appear to have been victims of its bureaucracy gone mad.

Cllr Ronson told delegates she had been deluged with complaints from absent parents and those who care for the children, and she highlighted local cases which underlined the agency's perceived inadequacies.

Its work has thrown amicable settlements out of the window and acrimonious relationships have been made worse. Only its abolition and replacement with a new system of family courts for reasonable settlements would do, she stated.

From the beginning, the CSA has fielded criticism poorly and failed to promote its achievements.

We echo Barbara Ronson's clarion call to scrap it soon, and bring in a more humane system that really works.

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