Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the Child Maintenance Service's service level agreement is for contacting clients; and how compliance with that agreement is measured.

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) takes a flexible and tailored approach to customer contact, with standards aligned to the nature and complexity of different enquiry types. This ensures customers receive support appropriate to their circumstances and chosen contact channel, rather than through a single overarching service target.

Compliance within these standards is monitored through a range of performance indicators, enabling CMS to assess responsiveness and quality, and to support continuous improvement.

Where specific standards are in place, such as for complaints, CMS aims to contact complainants within 15 working days to provide an outcome or agree next steps.