Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of using the Child Maintenance Service on the (a) mental health and wellbeing of its users and (b) relationships between separated parents when inaccurate awards are made and not amended.

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) is committed to ensuring it delivers a safe service which is sensitive to the needs of all customers that use it.

We recognise that some customers may face difficult circumstances particularly at a time of separation and the need to handle customer cases sensitively and accurately, particularly around calculations.

We introduced a Customer Experience Strategy and an Implementation Plan which aims to fully equip caseworkers with the tools, skills and support required to deliver service excellence. We are well prepared to respond quickly and effectively if we become aware that the mental health and wellbeing of any customer is at risk. Caseworkers have received extensive training and follow a well-managed process with clear steps, support tools and procedures to support vulnerable parents experiencing financial or emotional crisis. This includes the National District Provision Toolkit and Affordability Hub which provides invaluable information to allow caseworkers to signpost to national and local support organisations for debt help and mental health assistance across the UK.

To ensure calculations are accurate the department continues to build on its already proportionate and cost-effective controls, such as:

• use of verified income from HMRC and benefit systems as outlined in legislation and a principal part of service design.
• use of child benefit systems to verify qualifying child(ren).
• procedures and policy to request additional verification.
• a dedicated Financial Investigation Unit which addresses allegations of misrepresentation and fraud.
• a robust mandatory reconsideration and appeals process.

Where a single accidental error relating to the maintenance calculation is made, a challenge can be raised by a parent or their representative within time, and corrections can be applied by a caseworker without the need for a mandatory reconsideration (MR).

We have introduced a robust 3 Tier Quality Framework to rigorously monitor accuracy as part of our service ambition to further reduce error and increase our accuracy levels. The National Audit Office set a target of monetary value errors under 1%. CMS accuracy consistently meets this, remaining above 99% accuracy.

The government has also committed to reviewing the calculation to make sure it is fit for purpose and reflects today’s trends. Any changes will be subject to extensive consultation and legislation brought forward where necessary for approval.