Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to introduce legislation enabling parents experiencing economic abuse and accessing the Child Maintenance Service to safely transition from Direct Pay into Collect and Pay.

The Government plans to abolish the direct pay service entirely so all parents can access the collect and pay service.

The removal of the Direct Pay service to a streamlined Collect and Pay service will enable CMS to monitor all payments and intervene promptly if an arrangement breaks down, as well as removing the need for parents to manage payment arrangements directly, providing a safer, more consistent service for families.

The Government believes that this is the most effective to improve compliance within CMS and strengthen protections for victims and survivors of domestic abuse, which includes economic abuse.

Our intention is to implement these changes as soon as Parliamentary time allows.

In the meantime, the CMS is strengthening its support for victim/survivors by making it easier for parents to switch to the Collect and Pay service through improvements to the ‘change to service type’ process. It is also being clearer in its communication about what support is available for victims and survivors of domestic abuse and how to access it.

Work is also ongoing with stakeholders to understand what additional support we can give to victims and survivors of abuse across the CMS customer journey.