Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of eligible cases have the Child Maintenance Service used enforcement powers in including (a) liability orders, (b) bailiff action, (c) passport revocation and (d) driving licence revocation in each of the last five years; and what barriers exist to the Child Maintenance Service applying such enforcement powers in cases of persistent non-payment.

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) is committed to ensuring that children receive the financial support to which they are entitled. Where a paying parent fails to meet their obligations under a statutory child maintenance arrangement, enforcement action is taken.

The Department regularly publishes Child Maintenance Service official statistics. The Enforcement section of the latest bulletin provides details on the enforcement actions used by the CMS, and further details of these for quarter ending June 2015 to quarter ending June 2025 are available in table 6.1 and 6.2 of the accompanying National tables.

Enforcement actions are used by the CMS to collect both the maintenance arranged by the CMS, and Child Support Agency arrears that have been transitioned to CMS systems. Details of the number of paying parents using the Collect and Pay service, and the compliance of those parents, for the same time period are available in the CMS Paying Parents dataset on Stat-Xplore. Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest and, if needed, can access general guidance on how to extract the information required.

Enforcement can be more challenging where paying parents have irregular income, lack traceable assets, or receive benefits, as deductions may be limited or not feasible. These situations require careful consideration to ensure that enforcement remains proportionate and effective. In some instances, non-payment is used as a form of economic abuse. To support survivors, the CMS has introduced reforms, including easier access to the Collect and Pay service. While enforcement aims to be swift, paying parents have a right to appeal, which can delay proceedings. The CMS must balance timely action with procedural fairness.

The Department continues to monitor the effectiveness of enforcement measures and remains committed to further reforms to ensure that child maintenance is paid promptly and in full.