Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make it his policy, in respect of past interim maintenance assessments, that only that proportion of resultant child maintenance arrears which is deemed to be collectable will be transferred to the Child Maintenance Service.

The Department is currently defining its detailed policy and processes for validating historic arrears, including those accrued from an Interim Maintenance Assessments (IMA). The intention is that IMA debt will be addressed in order to reduce the amount that will be managed by the Child Maintenance Service. Our detailed approach is under consideration.