Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the Child Maintenance Service in (a) recognising and applying court-ordered shared care arrangements when determining maintenance liability, (b) ensuring that submitted evidence of changes in care arrangements is reviewed and acted upon within reasonable timeframes, (c) reviewing continued collection of maintenance payments where administrative error has been identified, (d) supporting service users experiencing prolonged disputes or repeated reassessments and, (f) resolving complaints in a timely manner.

Where the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) is satisfied that both parents have equal day-to-day care for the child, in addition to sharing overnight care, there is no requirement for either parent to pay child maintenance. There is no statutory definition of day-to-day care; the CMS’ definition is broadly aligned with that of Child Benefit, where an ‘overall care test’ is used. This provides consistency across government and receipt of Child Benefit is regarded as a good indicator of who is entitled to child maintenance payments. Where shared care exists for at least 52 night per week, the CMS will reduce liability.

If a dispute on the amount of care provided by each parent does arises, the CMS will seek to collect evidence from parents, allowing both a reasonable time to submit the evidence before we review. It will give greatest weight to evidence of a formal agreement or court order directing shared care arrangements.

When CMS backdates a change of circumstances, it will increase or decrease liability depending on the outcome of the decision.

The CMS works to ensure that liability adjustments following changes in care arrangements are processed as quickly and accurately as possible. These changes can vary in complexity, and the time taken depends on factors such as the availability of corroborating information from both parents and whether there is agreement on the new arrangements.

Where there is disagreement or insufficient evidence, additional checks are required, which can extend the timescale.

Through its Service Modernisation Programme CMS is expanding digital channels and self-service options to provide greater choice and flexibility to allow parents to submit information more quickly, helping reduce delays.

CMS has enhanced customer communications by increasing the use of SMS text and email and simplifying letters to make them clearer and easier to understand. Online services, including Get Help Arranging Child Maintenance and My Child Maintenance Case (MCMC), allow parents to access advice and manage their case 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It has also introduced online messaging for certain processes, enabling customers to respond to requests for information at a time that suits them, with plans to extend this functionality further. By promoting self-service, CMS frees up resources to support customers who need to speak to it by telephone. Recent improvements to call routing ensure more calls go directly to case-owning teams, providing a faster and more responsive service.

The DWP aims to contact a customer within 15 working days to tell them of the outcome of their complaint or when they can expect a response if it will take longer.