Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of removing the charge paid by single parents when seeking support from a former partner through the Child Maintenance Service.

The £20 Child Maintenance Service (CMS) application fee is designed to encourage parents to consider whether they can make their own private family-based arrangements rather than apply to the statutory scheme by default as this tends to be in the best interests of children.

The fee is waived if domestic abuse has been experienced by the applicant or any children in the household and for parents aged under 19 to ensure the most vulnerable do not face a barrier in accessing the statutory scheme.