Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of whether the Child Maintenance Service is facing additional delays in the handling of cases as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.

The CMS has made temporary changes to services to ensure we continue to support separated parents as part of our wider efforts to provide financial support through the welfare system.

The CMS has updated guidance on telephone and online services to encourage parents to report changes online where possible, except where changes must be reported by phone.

In order to ensure that receiving parents do not lose out in the long run, the Service will update cases with notified changes as soon as possible. Where payments have been missed the Service will take action to re-establish compliance and collect any unpaid amounts that may have accrued.