This article follows a radio chat I was recently involved in on BBC Radio 5 Live, Drive hour last Wednesday.

We have now seen two decades of significant changes to the Child Support Statutory scheme in 1993 (CS1), 2003 (CS2) and now on 10 December 2012 when the, not so new, CS3 or ‘Gross income scheme’ came into force.

Essentially, the child support calculation and collection scheme is still administered by the CSA, now called the Child Maintenance Service, with the help of the HMRC who have a greater role in providing information.

There are all sorts of changes which will be the subject of a separate guide but the changes that everyone seem ‘up in arms’ about is the imposition of new charges for the administration and collection of child support.

Effectively, if someone asks the CMS to collect and administer payments because, for example, the couple cannot and/or will not communicate, the payer will be charged 20% of the amount paid and the recipient will be charged 4% of the amount received, which will go to the CMS.

Separating couples in the current CSA system or new applicant are now receiving letters informing that them that this service will no longer be free and they they will be charged the above amount if they remain within the current system.

The worry is that this will leave payees who cannot talk to their former partners, for whatever reason, with very little choice but to go down the CMS route and pay the charges.

The Govt argue that the choice is to go to mediation to sort out their own private child maintenance agreements. Mediation is at the centre of their philosophy of self determination and accountability and the recipient of millions of pounds of tax payers money

Therefore mediation is likely to get another long term shot in the arm, raising awareness and understanding of what is involved, how it works and how a mediator and mediation can help.

Last Wednesday, I had the pleasure, I think, of appearing on BBC radio 5 to talk about the more central and important role mediation will now play. Compass Resolution mediation services is indeed experiencing a significant rise in enquiries to mediation.

This is great in itself but we are also seeing a significant increase in high conflict cases which would usually have gone straight to the CMS, some of whom qualify for legal aid and free mediation but many of whom do not.

There is a growing need for more and more skilled mediators able to manage this level of conflict.

Again, that is fine but my worry is for those 20% or so of couples where mediation might simply not be suitable because of domestic violence or some other unredressable power imbalance.

I am all for self determination, accountability and responsibility but we must also look out for the vulnerable in society and, in particular our children.