Absent parents who fail to pay child maintenance are to have cash taken directly from their bank accounts or face a visit from bailiffs.
The Government is giving the Child Maintenance Service powers to make an administrative liability order when a parent is in arrears, which can also mean money is docked from their wages or they are disqualified from driving.
Previously a court had to issue the orders, a process that could take six months.
About 10,000 parents a year who fail to pay maintenance could be affected.
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Mel Stride said: “We know the vast majority of parents strive each and every day to give their children the best possible start in life.
“But those who shirk the financial responsibilities they have for their children must be quickly held to account. That’s why we are fast-tracking enforcement from six months to six weeks – making the system fairer for parents and above all for children.”
The Government is also scrapping a £20 fee that parents caring for children have to pay in order to apply for child maintenance from the other parent.
