Letter: CSA told me to give up work

Sir: Polly Toynbee's conclusion that the Child Support Agency does little to help single mothers (article, 23 June) will come as no surprise to single mothers who have tried to use the system.

I have been told that the CSA cannot make my children's father contribute to my greatest expense, child-care costs, on the grounds that these costs are only incurred because I choose to work. When I asked what the alternative is, if I cannot afford the fees on my own, the CSA's helpline told me that I could always give up work and claim benefit.

I thought the CSA was established to get single mothers off benefit and back to work, not the other way round.

SUE HEADS

Leamington Spa, Warwickshire