Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 23 July 2018 to Question 164825 on Children: Maintenance, for how many cases (a) payment was received and (b) payment was received in full within 12 weeks of application in each year for which information is available.

(a) The latest statistics on the number of paying parents each quarter by the Child Maintenance Service are published in Table 7 of the Child Maintenance Service: Aug 2013 to Mar 2018 (experimental) statistics available online at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/child-maintenance-service-aug-2013-to-mar-2018-experimental

Information up to the end of June 2018 is due to be published on 26^th September 2018.

(b) We do not monitor the level of payments received within 12 weeks of an application. Payment is not expected to commence at the point of application; there is a period during which the amount of child maintenance liability is calculated and information from all parties is gathered before a payment schedule is put in place. Payment towards this liability is expected to be arranged within 12 weeks of a payment schedule being agreed between all parties, but this may vary depending on the exact circumstances of the case.