Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she is taking steps to minimise the financial impact of a failure to pay child maintenance on the receiving parent in the context of the cost-of-living crisis.

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) continues to take rigorous action to collect maintenance, combining robust negotiation activity with the highly effective use of its extensive range of Enforcement Powers. This approach is driven by the Payment Compliance strategy increasing CMS compliance influencing activities to tackle non-paying cases and challenge non-compliant behaviours. CMS applies a Continuous Improvement focus to Enforcement strategy and processes.

Total child maintenance collected using Enforcement Actions amounted to £36.1 million in the quarter to September 2022 compared with £33.8 in September 2021 and £28.4 in September 2020.

(Source – Child Maintenance Service published Statistics : National Tables – table 7.1 ‘Enforcement Actions’, April 2015 to September 2022).

As a result of a focussed effort to increase enforcement activity £58.5 million was paid through the Collect & Pay service in the quarter ending September 2022 compared to £44.8 million in the quarter ending September 2020.

(Source – Child Maintenance Service published Statistics: National Tables – table 6 ‘How much maintenance the Child Maintenance Service has arranged’ January 2015 to September 2022).