Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the frequency with which receiving parents are required to pay the £20 referral fee or the four per cent collect and pay charge when Child Maintenance Payments have not been made.

Fees and charges are intended to encourage separated parents to collaborate where possible to achieve the best outcome for their children. The application fee is a one-off payment of £20 and is waived for clients aged 18 or under, or those who have reported domestic abuse. The Direct Pay service does not incur any on-going collection charges. Collection charges only apply when a case is being managed in the Collect and Pay service. The four per cent charge for receiving parents is deducted only when maintenance is paid.

On 03 August 2017, we published the outcome of a review of the impact of fees and charges. The evidence available did not indicate that charges were preventing parents from making an application, and the majority of parents found the fee affordable. Roughly half of parents stated that charges influenced their decision to try a direct pay arrangement first.

We have no plans to abolish the application fee or charges, both of which remain central to our aim of encouraging collaboration and incentivising use of the Direct Pay service.