Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will take steps to ensure that the Child Maintenance Service has the necessary power to ensure that employers release payments from the earnings of paying parents in their employment with deduction from earning orders applied to their salary in a more timely manner.

The Child Maintenance Service encourages employers to release payments made via a deduction from earnings orders as soon as possible. Employers are required to pay deductions made for child maintenance by the 19^th day of the month following that in which the deduction was made. There are no plans to reduce this period as this would place an unfair burden on employers.