Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department provides assistance to (a) serving and (b) retired personnel when they are in dispute with the Child Maintenance Service.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) takes its duties in facilitating the recovery of child support maintenance very seriously. The MOD has a Memorandum of Understanding with the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) to facilitate the direct deduction of child maintenance payments from the pay of non-resident parents who are Service personnel, where it is appropriate to do so.

Where a parent asks the CMS to help obtain appropriate child support from a Service person, the MOD will assist the CMS in engaging with the Service person and will implement a Deduction from Earnings Request submitted by the CMS, where it is appropriate to do so. This mechanism can also be applied to applicable Service pensions and civilian pay.

It would not be appropriate for the Ministry of Defence to intervene in disputes between Service personnel or veterans and the CMS. Detailed guidance on the CMS complaints process, mandatory reconsiderations and appeals is published at:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/646116/if-you-are-unhappy-cms.pdf