After losing billions in cash for families it is time to scrap the Child Support Agency say the Lib Dems.

Work and pensions spokesman Steve Webb told party members that there was no fixing the government agency - which has been dogged by controversy and chaos since its creation in 1993.

CSA officials and ministers have already written off an "unbelievable" £2 billion in money that should have been collected from absent parents - mainly fathers.

And, Webb told his Brighton audience, another £125,000 has been deemed "possibly uncollectable".

"The CSA must be abolished. It's been tried, it failed, it must go," he said.

Government ministers are relying on reform and improved use of technology to turn around efforts to get parents to take responsibility for child support.

But the CSA's time is up, says Webb.

"Reforming the CSA will not work. There are only so many times that that you can patch a worn tyre before you have to admit that it is time for a new one."

Setting out new Liberal Democrat policy - backed by conference delegates - Webb argued that the Inland Revenue was the best route to ensure that feckless fathers did their bit.

"We would scrap the CSA and transfer the assessment, collection and enforcement functions to the Inland Revenue - a body that has a track record of getting the money that it is owed," he said.

Lib Dems are also backing a more bespoke assessment process to be considered in a family court.

"We believe every family is different and should have the absolute right to have their individual circumstances considered. People don't fit formulas," Webb said.

"We would introduce a system to allow individual circumstances to be given far more consideration."

Some families could be given discretion and parents would be incentives to pay up after an initial assessment made in a "tribunal based family court".