Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to improve access to and the timeliness of Child Maintenance Service cases for parents in West Dorset.

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) is delivering a Modernisation Programme to improve customer access, efficiency and transparency. This includes integrated online application services, the My Child Maintenance Case (MCMC) service, which provides customers with online access to case information and payment schedules, and Customer Connect, which enables secure online communication between parents and caseworkers. Telephone and assisted digital support remain available for customers who need additional assistance.

The programme has also introduced improved digital communications, enhanced data sharing to support faster and more accurate maintenance calculations, and predictive analytics to help identify cases at risk of non-compliance, which allows us to review the cases more swiftly and take action to ensure compliance is maintained

The Department continually monitors the effectiveness of the CMS through published statistics and operational performance measures. CMS services are delivered nationally and the Department does not routinely assess effectiveness or performance at parliamentary constituency level.