Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what protections are in place within the Child Maintenance Service to support parents and children experiencing financial abuse.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) takes the issue of domestic abuse extremely seriously and recognises that domestic abuse can take many forms including physical, emotional, or financial abuse, violent or threatening behaviour and coercive control.
CMS has procedures to ensure victims and survivors can use the service safely. All caseworkers receive training to identify abuse and signpost parents to specialist domestic abuse organisations where needed.
A Specialist Case Team manages the most complex cases, reducing the need for victims to repeat their experiences and ensuring tailored support for vulnerable customers.
For Direct Pay cases, CMS can act as an intermediary to exchange bank details, preventing any unwanted contact between parents. CMS can also advise on secure bank accounts with centralised sort codes to reduce the risk of location being traced.
The Government's intention remains to remove Direct Pay and move to a single service in which CMS collects and transfers all payments. This will remove the need for victims and survivors to provide evidence of domestic abuse and eliminate direct contact between parents. CMS will monitor all payments and act swiftly where payments fail, helping to tackle non-compliance and better support victims and survivors. We intend to implement these changes as soon as parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Joani Reid (Independent - East Kilbride and Strathaven)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Child Maintenance Service.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) is committed to providing a modern and efficient service for all customers.
CMS continues to exceed key performance indicators, including application clearances, change of circumstances clearances, Collect and Pay compliance and assessment accuracy, demonstrating improved outcomes for customers.
Through the Service Modernisation Programme, CMS is expanding digital channels and self-service options, including online services like Get Help Arranging Child Maintenance and My Child Maintenance Case (MCMC) which are available 24/7. CMS has improved customer communications via SMS, email and providing improved and clearer letters. Increased use of online services ensures resources are available to support customers with addition and/or complex queries or needs with call routing improvements made to ensure faster access to caseworkers-owning teams.
In July 2025, CMS launched Customer Connect, an online service that allows caseworkers and customers to exchange information efficiently through the customer’s online account, reducing the need for phone contact. CMS is now developing plans to roll out Customer Connect across the full service and for all case types.
Asked by: Catherine Fookes (Labour - Monmouthshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
What steps he is taking to improve the effectiveness of the Child Maintenance Service.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Child Maintenance payments keep around 120,000 children out of poverty each year.
The Government intends to replace Direct Pay with a more effective Collect and Pay model, as soon as parliamentary time allows, tackling non‑compliance and ensuring maintenance reaches children. Fees for compliant parents will be reduced, while stronger enforcement will target non‑payers. The Government is also reviewing the outdated calculation formula to ensure fairness and better outcomes for children.
Asked by: Joani Reid (Independent - East Kilbride and Strathaven)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to reform the Child Maintenance Service system.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government has announced reforms to strengthen the Child Maintenance Service (CMS), including its intention to remove Direct Pay and move to a single, enhanced Collect and Pay system. This will enable the CMS to monitor all payments, identify noncompliance more quickly, and take faster enforcement action. It is estimated that these changes could lift around 20,000 fewer children in poverty (on the relative low income after housing costs measure). These reforms will be implemented when Parliamentary time allows.
To improve arrears collection, the Government will also introduce administrative liability orders to replace the current court-based process, streamlining enforcement and reducing delays. Work with HM Courts and Tribunals Service and the Scottish Government is underway, with regulations to be brought forward as soon as possible.
In addition, the Government is reviewing the child maintenance calculation to ensure it remains 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.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the Child Maintenance Service in (a) recognising and applying court-ordered shared care arrangements when determining maintenance liability, (b) ensuring that submitted evidence of changes in care arrangements is reviewed and acted upon within reasonable timeframes, (c) reviewing continued collection of maintenance payments where administrative error has been identified, (d) supporting service users experiencing prolonged disputes or repeated reassessments and, (f) resolving complaints in a timely manner.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Where the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) is satisfied that both parents have equal day-to-day care for the child, in addition to sharing overnight care, there is no requirement for either parent to pay child maintenance. There is no statutory definition of day-to-day care; the CMS’ definition is broadly aligned with that of Child Benefit, where an ‘overall care test’ is used. This provides consistency across government and receipt of Child Benefit is regarded as a good indicator of who is entitled to child maintenance payments. Where shared care exists for at least 52 night per week, the CMS will reduce liability.
If a dispute on the amount of care provided by each parent does arises, the CMS will seek to collect evidence from parents, allowing both a reasonable time to submit the evidence before we review. It will give greatest weight to evidence of a formal agreement or court order directing shared care arrangements.
When CMS backdates a change of circumstances, it will increase or decrease liability depending on the outcome of the decision.
The CMS works to ensure that liability adjustments following changes in care arrangements are processed as quickly and accurately as possible. These changes can vary in complexity, and the time taken depends on factors such as the availability of corroborating information from both parents and whether there is agreement on the new arrangements.
Where there is disagreement or insufficient evidence, additional checks are required, which can extend the timescale.
Through its Service Modernisation Programme CMS is expanding digital channels and self-service options to provide greater choice and flexibility to allow parents to submit information more quickly, helping reduce delays.
CMS has enhanced customer communications by increasing the use of SMS text and email and simplifying letters to make them clearer and easier to understand. Online services, including Get Help Arranging Child Maintenance and My Child Maintenance Case (MCMC), allow parents to access advice and manage their case 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It has also introduced online messaging for certain processes, enabling customers to respond to requests for information at a time that suits them, with plans to extend this functionality further. By promoting self-service, CMS frees up resources to support customers who need to speak to it by telephone. Recent improvements to call routing ensure more calls go directly to case-owning teams, providing a faster and more responsive service.
The DWP aims to contact a customer within 15 working days to tell them of the outcome of their complaint or when they can expect a response if it will take longer.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress his department has made on the implementation of the Child Support (Enforcement) Act 2023 in England and Wales.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Work is ongoing to implement Administrative Liability Orders (ALO).
While Child Maintenance is reserved, enforcement of CM arrears in Scotland requires using the Scottish judicial system, which is devolved.
We are working closely with HM Courts and Tribunals Service and the Scottish Government to ensure enforcement action resulting from ALOs operates effectively across the UK, and plan to introduce regulations to Parliament to implement the measures across England, Scotland and Wales, as soon as possible.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will publish (a) the total amount owed to parents in child maintenance payment arrears and (b) how much this has increased by over the last 10 years.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department publishes quarterly statistics for the Child Maintenance Service (CMS)and the latest statistics are currently available to September 2025. Table 5 of the latest National tables shows the total amount of child maintenance that Paying Parents should have paid since the CMS began, and how much of that has not been paid at the end of every quarter, from March 2015 to September 2025.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has undertaken an impact assessment of the effect of calculating Child Maintenance Service payments on gross income on the financial wellbeing of paying parents in the last five years.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The child maintenance liability is usually calculated as a percentage of a Paying Parent’s gross weekly income, unless they are on low income or benefits where they pay a flat rate of £7. Income information is taken directly from HM Revenue and Customs for the latest tax year available and applies to parents who are employed or self employed. This allows calculations to be made quickly and accurately.
On previous Child Maintenance schemes net income was used. When this was changed to gross income on the 2012 scheme, percentages were adjusted to reflect the change and keep liabilities broadly the same for a given level of income as they had been under previous schemes.
The Government has announced a review of the child maintenance calculation to ensure the formula encourages compliance and sustainable arrangements. Any changes made to the child maintenance calculation will be subject to public consultation, and if made, will require amendments to legislation so would be subject to Parliamentary scrutiny.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what mechanisms are available to review child maintenance assessments where a paying parent is suspected of diverting income through (a) cash-based and (b) self-employed business activity.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) focuses on maximising compliance and identifying hidden earnings through measures such as data sharing with His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
Information about the paying parent's gross income is taken directly from HMRC for the latest tax year available. This allows calculations to be made quickly and accurately. Use of historic income ensures a stable calculation, which we know from customer feedback is valued as it enables parents to rely on maintenance for financial planning purposes.
In the event a receiving parent believes a paying parent’s earnings are not captured in the standard calculation using HMRC gross income data, they can apply for a variation, under which certain other categories of income can be considered.
Cases where the CMS has reason to believe Paying Parents may be hiding their income can be investigated by the Financial Investigation Unit. This is a specialist team which can request information from financial institutions (such as banks, investment companies and mortgage companies) to check the accuracy of information that the CMS is given. If any discrepancies are found, they can implement a correct maintenance liability that is supported by CMS legislation.
The department is currently reviewing the calculation to make sure it is fit for purpose.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
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 (a) identify and (b) investigate suspected under-declaration of income within the Child Maintenance Service.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) focuses on maximising compliance and identifying hidden earnings through measures such as data sharing with His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
Information about the paying parent's gross income is taken directly from HMRC for the latest tax year available. This allows calculations to be made quickly and accurately. Use of historic income ensures a stable calculation, which we know from customer feedback is valued as it enables parents to rely on maintenance for financial planning purposes.
In the event a receiving parent believes a paying parent’s earnings are not captured in the standard calculation using HMRC gross income data, they can apply for a variation, under which certain other categories of income can be considered.
Cases where the CMS has reason to believe Paying Parents may be hiding their income can be investigated by the Financial Investigation Unit. This is a specialist team which can request information from financial institutions (such as banks, investment companies and mortgage companies) to check the accuracy of information that the CMS is given. If any discrepancies are found, they can implement a correct maintenance liability that is supported by CMS legislation.
The department is currently reviewing the calculation to make sure it is fit for purpose.