Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure that direct deduction orders do not leave people in relative poverty.

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) encourages paying parents to pay their maintenance on time in order to avoid accrual of arrears. Where a paying parent fails to pay on time or in full, the Service is committed to using its wide-ranging enforcement powers proportionately to recover the debt and re-establish compliance to ensure children receive the financial support they need and deserve.

When appropriate, CMS can implement one of two types of deduction order, Regular deduction order (RDO) or Lump sum deduction order (LSDO).

The Department has a range of safeguards in place to prevent deductions from pushing people in to poverty. Decisions about enforcement actions are made on a case-by-case basis, considering the welfare of all parties, potential financial hardship of paying parents, and the most appropriate action to give the greatest chance of securing money for children. RDOs should not exceed 40 per cent of the paying parent's gross weekly income, and LSDOs can only be made if the account has a credit balance above a minimum amount of £110.