Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made a recent assessment of the effectiveness of CMS enforcement.

If paying parents fail to meet their financial obligation to their children, the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) has a range of strong enforcement powers, including deductions directly from earnings and bank accounts, removing a parent’s passport or driving license and commitment to prison.

CMS continually assesses the effectiveness of its enforcement action and in the year to September 2025 collected £214m through administrative and court-based enforcement actions (including deductions from earnings). This is the highest amount collected annually through enforcement activity, and 21% more than that collected during the year to September 2024.

We are working to introduce administrative liability orders (ALOs) to replace the current court-based liability order process. This simpler approach will allow CMS to act faster against parents who avoid their responsibilities, getting money to children more quickly. These changes strengthen enforcement powers and reduce delays. We are working with HM Courts and Tribunals Service and the Scottish Government to implement ALOs and will bring regulations to Parliament as soon as possible.