Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate her Department has made of the average cost difference between the (a) paying and (b) receiving parents for the Child Maintenance Service Collect and Pay service charge.

Collection fees only apply to the Collect and Pay service and are intended to provide both parents with an incentive to collaborate, and offset the cost of the scheme. Entry to the service is permitted if either both parents agree to it, or if the paying parent is deemed ‘unlikely to pay’. Paying parents therefore have the more influence in deciding which service type a case goes into.

The 20% collection fee for paying parents is a strong deterrent against non-compliance. The 4% collection fees for receiving parents acknowledges the costs associated with maintaining the case and provides a financial incentive for parents to consider using, or returning to, Direct Pay, or having a family-based arrangement, where appropriate.