Child Maintenance Service

Peter Fortune Excerpts

Tuesday 17th March 2026 Westminster Hall

[Kirith Entwistle]

My hon. Friend raises a particularly important point. I will come on to the collect and pay service and how that is also broken.

The result of how the CMS deals with shared care is a system that accepts unverified claims, but refuses genuine evidence. It is confusing, adversarial and often deeply unfair. The structure of the CMS also creates the wrong incentives. When maintenance calculations change depending on the number of nights a child spends with each parent, disputes over care arrangements quickly become disputes over money. Fortalice, a leading domestic abuse charity in my town of Bolton, is all too aware of that problem. It tells me of cases where a parent seeks increased overnight contact—not because that is in the child’s best interests, but to reduce their CMS payments or claim additional financial support. Children should never become bargaining chips in financial disputes.

[Peter Fortune (Bromley and Biggin Hill) (Con)]

I congratulate the hon. Member on securing the debate. We are all here because we have been inundated with issues and complaints about the CMS. One of the things I hear about over and over again is the lack of communication. Does the hon. Member agree that if the CMS got the communication right, some of these disputes might not escalate to the point where they become very troublesome indeed?

[Kirith Entwistle]

As I mentioned earlier, there is a big issue with how the CMS communicates with both parents.