Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of backlogs in court cases on the ability of the Child Maintenance Service to ensure parents receive child maintenance payments on time.

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) takes the impact of backlogs very seriously and regularly makes assessments in order to ensure payments are received on time. The Department and HM Courts and Tribunals Service maintain a vitally close working relationship with an aim to ensure Courts have sufficient capacity for referrals made from the CMS and prevent backlogs.

For context, the CMS has a wide range of strong enforcement powers designed to get money flowing quickly, prevent the build-up of arrears and get children the financial support they deserve. Where parents consistently fail to pay their maintenance, the CMS may pursue unpaid maintenance through liability orders and sanctions granted by the courts. These include using Enforcement Agents (previously known as bailiffs) to take control of goods, forcing the sale of property, disqualification from driving or commitment to prison.

We are committed to making the most effective use of these strong enforcement powers and have made several improvements to our enforcement processes to make it quicker and more efficient.