Parents who refuse to pay child maintenance could have their passports and driving licences confiscated without a court order, under tough new laws aimed at cleaning up the welfare system and cutting costs.

The Welfare Reform Bill, which will be debated by MPs today, also seeks to nudge single parents and people with health problems into employment and to make the long-term unemployed work for their state benefits.

"For those who choose not to support their own kids, we will not stand by and do nothing," said Work and Pensions Secretary James Purnell. "If a parent refuses to pay up then we will stop them travelling abroad or even using their car."

The government has called the changes the biggest shake-up of the welfare system for 60 years but it has also come under criticism for tabling the reforms at a time of soaring unemployment and slumping economic activity.