Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government why they have not yet fully commenced the Child Support Collection (Domestic Abuse) Act 2023.

The Child Support Collection (Domestic Abuse) Act 2023 recognised that Direct Pay may not always be appropriate for victims and survivors of domestic abuse. The Act intended to provide them greater protection when using the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) by allowing them to access Collect & Pay where there is evidence of domestic abuse.

However, it can be difficult to evidence and verify who is a victim of domestic abuse, which is a necessary stage within this process as any decision will impact both parents. Many victims and survivors of domestic abuse will not be able to provide evidence, and for the cases where evidence is available, it could be traumatic for victims and survivors to discuss. Where evidence could be provided, the CMS would need to verify this with the appropriate bodies which could lead to delays for these customers.

As a result, the CMS have looked to resolve the issue by reforming our services to make them safer for domestic abuse victims without needing to identify who those victims are.

The Government recently completed a consultation proposing the removal of Direct Pay and managing all CMS cases in one service to allow the CMS to tackle non-compliance faster and better support victims and survivors of domestic abuse who use the CMS. The response will be published in in due course.