Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to reduce call waiting times to the Child Maintenance Service; and if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of call handling times by that service.

CMS are committed to delivering the best possible service to all customers within our growing caseload, though fully recognise that call waiting times are sometimes longer than we would like.

To address this, we are working to improve the efficiency of our customer interactions through both the telephone and Digital channels, and by promoting self-service online. These are freeing up CMS resource to support customers that need to contact us by telephone.

The class leading CMS online service supports customers in understanding options around child maintenance arrangements through to completing applications and the ability to manage their case online. These services are available 24/7, and in July 2024 over 1 million customers were logging on to their online My Child Maintenance Case account and using them. To improve the efficiency of the service, improvements have been made to process simple actions automatically, whilst also improving training and guidance for CMS colleagues.

As a result, call volumes are reducing, and improved customer service being delivered through the combination of Online and Telephone channels.

CMS is working to improve all forms of communication with customers, including greater use of SMS and email as well as improving letter content.

The Department continually seeks to review, evaluate, and enhance tools and training material to support staff in delivering a quality customer service and takes timely action to further train and support staff where further improvements can be made. Additionally, CMS have extended their telephony service to 6pm on weekdays to meet demand.