Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to improve Child Maintenance Service (a) communication with service users, (b) maintenance calculations and (c) handling of arrears.

Communications & Our Digital Service

Through the Service Modernisation Programme, the CMS are ensuring customers have a greater choice of how they communicate access our service. The CMS has made improvements to customer communications, through more use of SMS text and email, and a full review of its letters making them easier for customer to understand. The online digital service 'Get Help Arranging Child Maintenance' through GOV.UK is open to any parent who needs unbiased advice and support to make an arrangement. My Child Maintenance Case (MCMC) offers customers the ability to update their information and request changes, is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

For those customers who need to contact the CMS by telephone, steps have been taken to update the service through efficient call routing. The CMS telephony opening hours are regularly reviewed based on the demand requirements. CMS have extended their telephony service to 6pm on weekdays to meet this demand.

The CMS has also recently introduced online messaging functionality to enable customers to respond to requests for information at a time that suits them. This is currently only available on a limited number of processes, but plans are in place to roll it out to all key processes.

Maintenance Calculation Review

The Government is conducting a review of the child maintenance calculation to make sure it is fit for purpose. This includes updating the underlying research and considering how to ensure the calculation reflects current and future societal trends.

Options for proposed reforms are currently being considered. Any changes made to the child maintenance calculation will be subject to extensive public consultation, and if made, will require amendments to legislation so would be subject to Parliamentary scrutiny.

Arrears & Compliance

The Government is dedicated to ensuring parents meet their responsibilities to provide their children with financial support and the Child Maintenance Service will do everything within its powers to make sure parents comply. Where parents fail to pay their child maintenance, the Service will not hesitate to use its enforcement powers, including deductions from earnings orders, removal of driving licences, disqualification from holding a passport, and committal to prison. The Service is committed to using these powers fairly and in the best interests of children and separated families.

The CMS has a low percentage of unpaid maintenance with 7% (£734.3 million) of the total maintenance due to be paid since the CMS began in 2012, still to be collected through Collect & Pay. This has steadily fallen since the 17% due to be paid in March 2015.