Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 19 October 2016 to Question 48695, what recent assessment he has made of the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the Child Maintenance Service for families that use that service.

The most recent published assessment of the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the Child Maintenance Service was contained in the National Audit Office’s value for money study in 2014 - Child maintenance 2012 scheme: Early Progress. This concluded that progress at the time of the study had been positive. Progress has been sustained.

The National Audit Office’s report is available online at:

https://www.nao.org.uk/report/child-maintenance-2012-scheme-early-progress-2/