Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to help ensure that the Child Maintenance Service meets its two-year arrears recovery target in cases where a paying parent has a significantly increased income; and what safeguards are in place to help prevent changes in frequency of support payments to receiving parents without (a) notice or (b) mitigation.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Child Maintenance Service take proactive actions to influence Paying Parents who are not paying their child maintenance back into compliant behaviours as soon as a missed payment is identified. The service will initially negotiate repayment of arrears that is feasible for the parent to pay, taking into account the individual circumstances of each case.
The Debt Steer provides a policy-based framework for arrears negotiation. Its purpose is to ensure arrears are collected as promptly and reliably as possible, taking into account all relevant circumstances i.e. full arrears payment by one lump sum, partial lump sum payment and a schedule of on-going payments to recover any remaining arrears within a maximum of two years, and a schedule of on-going payments to recover the full arrears within two years.
Discretion can be applied to extend the timeframe of recovery. The Service first seeks to address the cause for non or partial payment and attempts to find a sustainable solution for the Paying payment which can then provide stability for a Receiving parent and enable the repayment of any arrears in the shortest possible period of time.
If this is unsuccessful the service will consider all available enforcement options including deduction from earnings orders or deductions direct from bank accounts.
If this is unsuccessful, the CMS will use further measures, including order for sale, where it can apply to the courts for the sale of the paying parent’s assets or property, removal of driving licences, disqualification of passports, and committal to prison.
Further we aim to provide fast, accurate and transparent assessments, based on the paying parent’s income, primarily their gross annual income provided by HM Revenue and Customs. If there are no significant changes in circumstances occurring, the maintenance calculation remains in place for a year at which point the Service calculates a new liability as part of the annual review service. However, the Service do continue to deal with unexpected events and major changes in year, in circumstances such as a move into or out of employment, or only where income changes by at least 25% from the latest annual income information provided by HM Revenue and Customs.
This helps to keep calculations up to date and reduces the need for changes in income to be reported during the year. Having a scheme with limited income changes during the year means more certainty for both parents. The paying parent knows for the year ahead how much they are expected to pay, and the receiving parent can budget with much more certainty.
The full information requested in relation to how many and what proportion of child maintenance cases meet two-year arrears recovery is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of child maintenance cases meet the two-year arrears recovery target.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Child Maintenance Service take proactive actions to influence Paying Parents who are not paying their child maintenance back into compliant behaviours as soon as a missed payment is identified. The service will initially negotiate repayment of arrears that is feasible for the parent to pay, taking into account the individual circumstances of each case.
The Debt Steer provides a policy-based framework for arrears negotiation. Its purpose is to ensure arrears are collected as promptly and reliably as possible, taking into account all relevant circumstances i.e. full arrears payment by one lump sum, partial lump sum payment and a schedule of on-going payments to recover any remaining arrears within a maximum of two years, and a schedule of on-going payments to recover the full arrears within two years.
Discretion can be applied to extend the timeframe of recovery. The Service first seeks to address the cause for non or partial payment and attempts to find a sustainable solution for the Paying payment which can then provide stability for a Receiving parent and enable the repayment of any arrears in the shortest possible period of time.
If this is unsuccessful the service will consider all available enforcement options including deduction from earnings orders or deductions direct from bank accounts.
If this is unsuccessful, the CMS will use further measures, including order for sale, where it can apply to the courts for the sale of the paying parent’s assets or property, removal of driving licences, disqualification of passports, and committal to prison.
Further we aim to provide fast, accurate and transparent assessments, based on the paying parent’s income, primarily their gross annual income provided by HM Revenue and Customs. If there are no significant changes in circumstances occurring, the maintenance calculation remains in place for a year at which point the Service calculates a new liability as part of the annual review service. However, the Service do continue to deal with unexpected events and major changes in year, in circumstances such as a move into or out of employment, or only where income changes by at least 25% from the latest annual income information provided by HM Revenue and Customs.
This helps to keep calculations up to date and reduces the need for changes in income to be reported during the year. Having a scheme with limited income changes during the year means more certainty for both parents. The paying parent knows for the year ahead how much they are expected to pay, and the receiving parent can budget with much more certainty.
The full information requested in relation to how many and what proportion of child maintenance cases meet two-year arrears recovery is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether (a) she and (b) Ministers from her Department have met with insurance company Unum since 4 July 2024.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Details of ministers’ meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK and can be found here(opens in a new tab).
There have been no meetings with Unum.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the disregarded capital limit on pension credit was in each of the last 15 years; and if she will increase the disregarded capital limit in line with inflation since the last increase.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The capital disregard in Pension Credit has been set at £10,000 since 2009 and will remain at that level in 2025/26. Capital over £10,000 reduces weekly entitlement by £1 per £500 of capital. Unlike with working age income related benefits, there is no upper capital limit.
Benefit rules, including capital disregards in income related benefits, are kept under regular review. There are no plans to increase the capital disregard in Pension Credit.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking through the Child Maintenance Service to ensure that receiving parents and their children are adequately financially supported when paying parents (a) decide not to return to work after maternity leave to save on childcare costs and (b) take other decisions that forgo income due to their personal circumstances.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The maintenance calculation is designed to be affordable and sustainable for paying parents, while ensuring they contribute a reasonable amount to support their children.
Calculations are based on a percentage of the Paying Parent’s gross weekly income received directly from HM Revenue & Customs. This includes taxable income from employment and can take account of certain unearned income, including from dividends, property income and savings.
Where a paying parent’s income reduces due to not returning to work after maternity leave or due to a change in their personal circumstances, and this change means their income decreases by at least 25%, the calculation will then be reassessed.
Whilst the 1991 Child Support Act puts a legal obligation on all parents to support their children regardless of their financial situation. Under the 2012 Child Maintenance Scheme, an individual with income of less than £7 will generally have a “nil” liability.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment the Child Maintenance Service has made of the potential merits of reducing the threshold for unearned income for paying parents from £2,500 to £1,000 in line with HMRC’s annual tax-free allowance.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The threshold for unearned income was originally set at £2,500 to ensure that this represented a significant source of a paying parent’s total annual income. This ensures that minor changes in unearned income do not interfere with the efficiency of the system, increasing costs for the taxpayer.
A review is currently ongoing to look at the child maintenance calculation to ensure it is fit for purpose. Unearned income, including the current threshold, falls within the scope of this review.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring the Child Maintenance Service to calculate a paying parent's liability using their household income rather than their individual income.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) operates on the principle that both parents have financial responsibility for their child, including contributing to their food and clothing, as well as contributing towards the associated costs of running the home that the child lives in. The calculation represents an amount of money that is broadly commensurate with the amount that a paying parent would spend on the child if they were still living with them.
The CMS will assess how much the paying parent should pay the receiving parent, which in most cases is based on a percentage of the paying parent's gross annual income, before tax and national insurance but after pension contributions. This can also include income from certain assets, savings and investment such as dividends or property income. Income from other members of the household is not considered as they have no financial responsibility for the qualifying child.
The income of the receiving parent is not taken into consideration as they are already contributing as the child's primary caregiver and their income should not remove the responsibility of a paying parent to support their child.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment the Child Maintenance Service has made of the potential merits of ensuring that both parents are equally liable for childcare costs.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) operates on the principle that both parents have financial responsibility for their child, including contributing to their food and clothing, as well as contributing towards the associated costs of running the home that the child lives in. The calculation represents an amount of money that is broadly commensurate with the amount that a paying parent would spend on the child if they were still living with them.
The CMS will assess how much the paying parent should pay the receiving parent, which in most cases is based on a percentage of the paying parent's gross annual income, before tax and national insurance but after pension contributions. This can also include income from certain assets, savings and investment such as dividends or property income. Income from other members of the household is not considered as they have no financial responsibility for the qualifying child.
The income of the receiving parent is not taken into consideration as they are already contributing as the child's primary caregiver and their income should not remove the responsibility of a paying parent to support their child.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure that parents are not able to avoid (a) Child Maintenance liability and (b) Deduction of Earning Orders by changing employment.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Where parents frequently change employment, the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) can use alternative powers such as deducting child maintenance directly from their bank account. The CMS has a range of strong enforcement options that are designed to get money flowing quickly, prevent the build-up of arrears and ensure children get the financial support they deserve. Upon changing employer, the child maintenance liability will remain unaffected unless there is also a change to income which is greater than 25%.
The Child Support (Enforcement) Act 2023 delivered primary legislation to accelerate the enforcement process. The changes seek to introduce a simpler administrative process to obtain a liability order against those paying parents who actively avoid their responsibilities, enabling the CMS to take faster enforcement action. We will monitor the effectiveness of this.
The CMS has a relatively low percentage of unpaid maintenance. Only 8% of the total maintenance due to be paid since the start of the CMS remains to be collected through the collect & pay service. This was as high as 17% in March 2015.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to improve the success of enforcement measures taken by the Child Maintenance Service on non-paying parents.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Where parents frequently change employment, the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) can use alternative powers such as deducting child maintenance directly from their bank account. The CMS has a range of strong enforcement options that are designed to get money flowing quickly, prevent the build-up of arrears and ensure children get the financial support they deserve. Upon changing employer, the child maintenance liability will remain unaffected unless there is also a change to income which is greater than 25%.
The Child Support (Enforcement) Act 2023 delivered primary legislation to accelerate the enforcement process. The changes seek to introduce a simpler administrative process to obtain a liability order against those paying parents who actively avoid their responsibilities, enabling the CMS to take faster enforcement action. We will monitor the effectiveness of this.
The CMS has a relatively low percentage of unpaid maintenance. Only 8% of the total maintenance due to be paid since the start of the CMS remains to be collected through the collect & pay service. This was as high as 17% in March 2015.