Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what provision he has made for the enforcement of child maintenance payment orders where the subject of the order is a director of a private limited company and receives their income payments in dividends.

Where a paying parent becomes the Director of their limited liability company, they are legally an employee of that company and are treated the same as any other employee for child maintenance purposes. If the receiving parent believes that the paying parent has additional income as a result of their employment status, for example, dividends they can apply for a variation.

The Financial Investigation Unit (FIU) will look into suspected fraudulent behaviour and check the accuracy of information the CMS is given. There are some paying parents who are determined to avoid their responsibility to pay for their children. These are difficult cases to pursue, however, the CMS will continue to use all available powers and tools to collect what is owed.