Asked by: Baroness Coffey (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government why they have not yet fully commenced the Child Support Collection (Domestic Abuse) Act 2023.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Child Support Collection (Domestic Abuse) Act 2023 recognised that Direct Pay may not always be appropriate for victims and survivors of domestic abuse. The Act intended to provide them greater protection when using the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) by allowing them to access Collect & Pay where there is evidence of domestic abuse.
However, it can be difficult to evidence and verify who is a victim of domestic abuse, which is a necessary stage within this process as any decision will impact both parents. Many victims and survivors of domestic abuse will not be able to provide evidence, and for the cases where evidence is available, it could be traumatic for victims and survivors to discuss. Where evidence could be provided, the CMS would need to verify this with the appropriate bodies which could lead to delays for these customers.
As a result, the CMS have looked to resolve the issue by reforming our services to make them safer for domestic abuse victims without needing to identify who those victims are.
The Government recently completed a consultation proposing the removal of Direct Pay and managing all CMS cases in one service to allow the CMS to tackle non-compliance faster and better support victims and survivors of domestic abuse who use the CMS. The response will be published in in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Coffey (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have set a deadline for the Marine Management Organisation to issue byelaws for consultation for the remaining Marine Protected Areas.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Department has not set a deadline for consultation due to the need to follow due process and consider how we can best meet the Government’s priorities. The Government recognises the need for action to protect and restore our marine environment, including meeting the Environment Act target for Marine Protected Areas, while supporting a sustainable fishing industry.
Asked by: Baroness Coffey (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what guidance has (1) the Cabinet Office and (2) the Information Commissioner provided to public authorities regarding sharing the personal identity of FOI request applicants when consulting a third party in relation to the FOI applicant’s request.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
All public authorities that process personal data for the purposes of responding to FOI requests must comply with the requirements of data protection legislation.
The Freedom of Information Code of Practice, issued under section 45 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, provides guidance to public authorities on consultation with third parties. The Code is published on GOV. UK at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/freedom-of-information-code-of-practice.
Guidance issued by the Information Commissioner can be found at www.ico.org.uk
Asked by: Baroness Coffey (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to provide funding for a new school in Saxmundham for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities; if so, when building will start, and when the school will open.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
The government is clear it wants to make sure all children with special educational needs and disabilities receive the support they need to achieve and thrive. We are committed to improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, and ensuring special schools cater to those with the most complex needs, restoring parents’ trust that their child will get the support they need.
Work on special and alternative provision (AP) free schools is continuing. As with all government investment, special and AP free school projects will be subject to value for money consideration through their development, in line with the government’s vision for the special educational needs system.
Projects are at different stages of development and the government is prioritising operational decisions on those that are due to open in the shorter term.
Asked by: Baroness Coffey (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much Child Maintenance Service payment was reduced to receiving parents because of “special expenses” relating to travel to visit family in (1) 2020–21, (2) 2021–22, (3) 2022–23, and (4) 2023–24.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Special expense variations allow the Child Maintenance Service to look at some circumstances which are not covered by the basic maintenance calculation. A parent may apply for a variation at any time during the life of their case. If we accept a variation and it subsequently succeeds, we adjust the maintenance calculation accordingly.
Special expense variations are:
The Child Maintenance Service holds collective data for all special expense variation categories but we do not hold specific data for each individual category. As data is not readily available, to provide this would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Baroness Coffey (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people and how many full-time equivalent posts work in the Child Maintenance Service (1) as civil servants, and (2) as contractors.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As of 30th March 2025, the number of employees working for the Child Maintenance Service is 5,055. This equates to the full-time equivalent (FTE) of 4449.65
The breakdown for (1) civil servants, and (2) contractors are as follow:
| Number of Employees | FTE |
DWP Civil Servants (GB) | 4,078 | 3502.73 |
DfCNI Civil Servants (NI) | 651 | 620.92 |
Contractors (Recruitment Agency NI) | 326 | 326 |
Asked by: Baroness Coffey (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many, and what proportion of, parents in arrears on Child Maintenance Service payments are unemployed.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) is committed to ensuring separated parents support their children financially, taking robust enforcement action against those who do not. Where parents fail to pay their child maintenance, the Service will not hesitate to use its enforcement powers, including deductions from earnings orders, removal of driving licences, disqualification from holding a passport, and committal to prison.
If a paying parent is in receipts of benefits due to being unemployed, the CMS can set up a deduction from the benefit to collect ongoing maintenance, or arrears in the case of Collect and Pay. The CMS can deduct £8.40 a week towards ongoing maintenance or arrears from certain prescribed benefits. Deductions towards arrears and ongoing maintenance are not taken at the same time. Arrears deductions are taken only after ongoing liability has been satisfied.
The Information on the full arrears status of those parents is not readily available and to providei t would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Baroness Coffey (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their most recent estimate of the number of unoccupied dwellings in England.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
According to the latest published statistics, excluding second homes, there are 719, 470 vacant dwellings in England. Statistics on vacant dwellings in England as reported for the purposes of council tax are published in the Department’s live table 615 which is accessible on gov.uk.
Asked by: Baroness Coffey (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 10 April (HL6223), whether they will answer the question put, namely, whether they have commissioned advice from the Office for Environmental Protection about the Planning and Infrastructure Bill.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
I refer the noble Lady to the answer given to Question UIN HL6223 on 10 April 2025.
The department has not commissioned advice from the Office for Environmental Protection on the Planning and Infrastructure Bill as they are an independent body and it is for them to decide whether to advise on proposed changes.
Asked by: Baroness Coffey (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made on the River Deben Action Plan.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Publicly launched in May 2024 the "Recovering the Deben - From Source to Sea" action plan developed by The East Suffolk Catchment Partnership (ESCP) continues to secure action in the catchment. Since the plan’s launch, the East Suffolk Catchment Partnership has been working with landowners to develop natural flood management schemes in the upper catchment, with the Forestry Commission to improve woodland connectivity, and with a wide range of stakeholders to improve riparian habitats. In addition, the partners have come together to share monitoring and evidence and are developing a State of the Deben Report. A successful bid on behalf of the partnership by the Rivers Trust into the Water Restoration Fund marks a major milestone in supporting the action plan ambitions. With funding in place, the Rivers Trust is recruiting a Programme Manager to work with partners, stakeholders, and local communities to secure further improvements such as addressing fish passage, installing buffer strips alongside the watercourse throughout the catchment, the use of nutrient attenuation ponds, and increasing the understanding of catchment water quality impacts on the Deben Estuary, a Site of Special Scientific Interest in need of recovery.