Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Gingerbread report entitled Fix the Child Maintenance Service, published on 25 November 2024, what assessment she has made of the impact of non-receipt of child maintenance on child poverty levels.

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) is committed to encouraging parents to meet their responsibilities to provide their children with the financial support they need to get a good start in life. Child Maintenance payments from both CMS and family-based arrangements keep 160,000 children out of poverty each year. The CMS has a low percentage of unpaid maintenance. 8% of the total maintenance due to be paid since the CMS began remains to be collected.

The CMS has recently consulted on significant reforms and responses are being analysed. Proposals included removing the Direct Pay service and managing all CMS cases in one service to allow the CMS to tackle non-compliance faster. The Government will publish a response in due course.

The CMS continues to engage regularly with stakeholders, including Gingerbread, as we consider reform.