In Memory
Honouring Lives Lost to System Failure
There are people across the United Kingdom whose lives have been deeply affected by failures within public systems.
- Some lost homes.
- Some lost families.
- Some lost stability.
- Some lost hope.
And tragically, some lost their lives.
This page exists to remember them.
Not as statistics.
Not as case numbers.
But as people.
People who mattered.
People who should have been heard earlier.
People who should have been protected better.
Right First Time UK was inspired
By the life and example of Robert Andrew Kellett — known to many as Andy.
Andy spent years helping people understand systems, processes, and support services that many found difficult to navigate alone. He freely shared his knowledge, guided people through challenges, and helped others better understand their rights and options.
He believed that information should be accessible, understandable, and available to everyone.
His commitment to helping others inspired the creation of Right First Time UK and continues to influence our work today.
We aim to carry forward those values by making information easier to understand, helping people access support, and empowering individuals to make informed decisions when dealing with complex systems and services.
Andy’s legacy lives on through the people he helped, the knowledge he shared, and the values that continue to guide our work.
Remembering Gavin Briggs and Jonny O'Neill
We also remember Gavin Briggs and Jonny O'Neill.
Their stories highlighted the very real impact that public systems,
unresolved disputes, financial
pressures, and failures in support can have on individuals and families.
Gavin's experience became one of the most recognised examples of the challenges faced by some
families dealing with Child Maintenance Service disputes, enforcement
action, and financial hardship. His death deeply affected many people and led his father, Ian Briggs, to campaign for greater accountability, fairness, and reform.
Their stories are reminders that
behind every case, complaint,
decision, and process are real people whose lives can be
significantly affected by the actions and decisions of organisations and public bodies.
Sadly, these experiences are not isolated.
Many individuals and families across the UK continue to face
significant challenges linked to
financial hardship, disputed debts, enforcement action, safeguarding concerns, housing insecurity, and systems that can feel difficult to
understand or challenge.
By remembering those affected, we hope to encourage greater
awareness, accountability, fairness, and positive change.
The Bigger Problem
This is not about one person.
Or one department.
Or one mistake.
It is about the wider human cost when systems fail repeatedly without accountability.
We continue to see people affected by:
- false debt
- homelessness risk
- safeguarding failures
- prolonged complaints processes
- family breakdown
- financial hardship
- delayed support
- mental health crisis
- public enforcement before proper review
- systems that overwhelm vulnerable people instead of protecting them
Behind every complaint file is a human being.
Behind every enforcement action is often a family under pressure.
Behind every failure is a life affected.
Sometimes permanently.
Andy Kellett
(11th March 1966 – 16th April 2026)
About Andy
Robert Andrew Kellett, known to many as Andy, was a much-loved father and friend to many,
campaigner, and a strong voice for parents fighting unfair Child Maintenance Service (CMS)
decisions, shared care disputes, and
family court issues.
He helped people understand how CMS rules worked, explained court
orders, Child Benefit rules, shared care
arrangements, and tribunal processes. He often stood
beside parents at hearings as a
representative and
supporter, helping them challenge
decisions and
prepare their cases.
A very intelligent man who found Regulation 50.
175+ overnights
when care itself is genuinely equal.
A parent cannot be treated as the
“non-resident
parent” if they provide day-to-day care of the child to the same extent as the other parent.
Along with other laws and explained in layman's terms for many to
understand,
This helped
thousands of people and parts being used every day to help combat failings in the Child Maintenance Service.
Andy also found, discrimination with in child benefit
legislation with only 1 parent able to claim when no clear main carer with 50/50.
(CMS) use child
benefit to determine who the main carer is.
Andy himself was
pursued by the Child Maintenance Service,
despite having 50/50 shared care. The case
continued for years—even when his children were well into their 20s—which strengthened his determination to fight for others facing the same injustice.
Andy strongly
campaigned for true 50/50 shared care,
believing both parents should be treated fairly and that children should never be used as financial tools or financial
leverage. He argued that the link between Child Benefit and CMS created unfair outcomes,
especially where care was shared equally.
What Andy Did
By trade, Andy was an air conditioning
engineer working on trains, but outside of work he spent years helping
parents across the UK who were struggling with CMS, false arrears, and unfair child
maintenance decisions.
He supported
families without charging a penny,
giving up his own time to help people who felt lost in the system. Many of his friends never knew the scale of what he was doing — he would simply say “busy helping a mate out,”
when in reality he was
fighting for
thousands of
families nationwide.
His message was always simple:
"If the system gets it wrong, families pay the price".
Andy passed away in April 2026, He becaome ill and did not wish to be a burden on his family,
His fight for justice continues through Right First Time UK and the Kellett and Briggs Bill. His legacy lives on in every family fighting to be heard.
Gavin Briggs
(8 May 1980 – 1 July 2020)
About Gavin
Gavin served in the Royal Air Force, proudly following in his father’s footsteps.
He was a deeply loved son and a
devoted father. Ian describes Gavin as “an amazing Dad” and someone who would “go to hell and back” for the people he cared about.
Gavin was placed under severe financial and emotional pressure linked to Child Maintenance Service (CMS) arrears,
deductions, and
enforcement actions. His father states that Gavin was wrongly
pursued over inflated
arrears and left under immense stress. These pressures, alongside serious concerns about how CMS handled his case, contributed to the circumstances
surrounding his death. Ian has continued
campaigning for justice in Gavin’s name.
Justice 4 Gavin Briggs became a wider movement
focused not only on Gavin’s case, but on parents who
believed they had been affected by:
false and inflated arrears
forced Collect and Pay charges
poor handling of shared care cases
wrongful enforcement
lack of transparency
mental health harm caused by prolonged disputes
Gavins case has also been raised in Parliament by Stephen Timms, who directly
referenced Gavin’s death during a Westminster Hall debate on the Child Maintenance Service, asking how Gavin could be told he owed nearly £16,000 shortly before his death.
About Ian Briggs
Ian Briggs is Gavin’s father and the founder of the Justice 4 Gavin Briggs campaign.
http://www.justice4gavinbriggs.com/
After losing his son, Ian became one of the strongest public voices challenging the CMS system. He worked with campaigners,
researchers, journalists, and parliamentary
submissions to bring
attention to cases involving:
alleged fictitious arrears
liability orders
enforcement disputes
Collect and Pay charges
court transparency
CMS complaints and appeals
campaign consistently argues that many
parents are being pushed into poverty, mental breakdown, and in some cases suicide because of how the
system operated.
Ian Briggs’ campaign is much more than just seeking justice for Gavin — it has become a wider fight to expose what he believes are serious
failures inside the Child Maintenance Service (CMS).
Ian's had Interview with,
- Ann Widdecombe
- Alex Reid
- Johnny Mercer
and many others raising awareness
The campaign pushes for public
accountability, Select Committee
evidence, police
reporting of alleged false arrears, and wider
reform of the CMS
system. It also
supported calls for investigation into the
relationship between
financial enforcement, mental health decline, and
parental suicides.
His central message:
"Public systems should
support families — not
destroy them".