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Written Question
Child Maintenance Service
Thursday 16th September 2021

Asked by: David Davis (Conservative - Haltemprice and Howden)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to tackle issues raised in the Independent Case Examiner's Annual Report 2020 on the Child Maintenance Service, including the findings on the way that Service presents its accounts information.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Since the report was published in October 2020 the Child Maintenance Service has been running at a reduced level and has been focussed on frontline activity serving our customers due to the Coronavirus Pandemic.

However, we are now starting to increase that service and have introduced a Transformation Programme that will constantly review how we work and help to automate lots of processes.

We are continually improving our contact channels and we plan to improve our calculation letters in line with our online portal and system. This is so that all lines of communication between Child Maintenance Group and customers present information to customers in the same way to reduce confusion.

There are also proposed changes to our online portal that surround explaining the calculation and explaining the payment plan to our customers, these changes are planned for Quarter 3 of the financial year.


Written Question
Child Maintenance Service: Coronavirus
Tuesday 14th July 2020

Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Child Maintenance Service in enforcing payments for resident parents during the covid-19 outbreak.

Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Where payments have been missed we have asked parents to report the changes via the self-service portal.

In order to ensure that receiving parents do not lose out in the long run, we 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.

No one will get away with giving false information. Those found to be abusing the system can be subjected to the full extent of our enforcement powers and the Child Maintenance Service will pursue these, where appropriate.


Written Question
Child Maintenance Service: Coronavirus
Tuesday 14th July 2020

Asked by: Drew Hendry (Scottish National Party - Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey)

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.

Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

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.


Written Question
Children: Maintenance
Tuesday 7th July 2020

Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what reports he has received on the Child Maintenance Service not contacting parents who miss child maintenance payments during the covid-19 outbreak; and what assessment she has made of the effect on the financial security of the recipients of any such missed payments.

Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Paying parents are still expected to pay child maintenance throughout this period. Our priority is to maintain the flow of maintenance that is currently being paid, by ensuring that we transfer the payments as quickly as possible to receiving parents.

We know the vast majority of parents take their responsibilities extremely seriously and will do whatever is needed to ensure their children are supported.

Where payments have been missed we have asked parents to report the changes via the self-service portal.

In order to ensure that receiving parents do not lose out in the long run, we 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. There is insufficient data to estimate the precise economic impact of missed payments on different groups.

The Government has been clear in its commitment to support those, including both paying and receiving parents, whose income drops as a result of the public health emergency and we have made a number changes to the welfare system to ensure people are receiving the support they need. Taken together, these measures represent an injection of over £6.5 billion into the welfare system and, along with the other job and business support programmes announced by the Chancellor, represent one of the most comprehensive packages of support introduced by an advanced economy in response to the coronavirus outbreak.


Written Question
Child Maintenance Service: Coronavirus
Thursday 2nd July 2020

Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Child Maintenance Service in enforcing payments for resident parents during the covid-19 outbreak.

Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Paying parents are still expected to pay child maintenance throughout this period. We know the vast majority of parents take their responsibilities extremely seriously and will do whatever is needed to ensure their children are supported. Where payments have been missed we have asked parents to report the changes via the self-service portal.

In order to ensure that receiving parents do not lose out in the long run, we 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.

No one will get away with giving false information. Those found to be abusing the system can be subjected to the full extent of our enforcement powers and the Child Maintenance Service will pursue these, where appropriate.


Written Question
Child Maintenance Service: Coronavirus
Wednesday 24th June 2020

Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will place in the Library any guidance or training materials that were issued by her Department to the Child Maintenance Service on how to manage changes in procedure in response to the covid-19 outbreak where domestic abuse was a factor.

Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

All CMS staff are trained in how to support women who disclose domestic abuse and have access to The Domestic Abuse Plan which guides caseworkers through the appropriate action to take to help safeguard vulnerable women.

There are currently no plans to place Child Maintenance Service guidance or training materials in the Library.


Written Question
Children: Maintenance
Tuesday 16th June 2020

Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the levels of (a) staff and (b) resources allocated to child maintenance payments has changed since the covid-19 lockdown began.

Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Child Maintenance Service, as part of Department for Work and Pensions is supporting the effort to deliver essential services during the current coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Some colleagues have been redeployed to support the effort in benefit payments.

Our priority is to maintain the flow of maintenance that is currently being paid, by easing the financial pressure on parents and ensuring that we transfer the payments as quickly as possible to receiving parents. While there has been the redeployment of some Child Maintenance Service colleagues, the majority have remained in their current roles and are working to ensure the flow of payments is maintained.


Written Question
Children: Maintenance
Thursday 4th June 2020

Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Child Maintenance Service standard practice of making reassessments when there is a 25 per cent reduction in income, if she will make it her policy to provide financial assistance to low-income, divorced parents on furlough at 80 per cent of their normal income to help them meet their child maintenance payments.

Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Government recognises that the income of many separated parents is being impacted by the public health emergency. No one should use this time as an excuse to avoid their child maintenance payments however where parents experience a change in income, we can review their case and check if the amount paid should change. If it does not, they should continue to make payments.

The Government has been clear in its commitment to support those, including both paying and receiving parents, whose income drops as a result of the public health emergency and we have made a number of changes to the welfare system to ensure people are receiving the support they need. These include increasing the standard rate of Universal Credit and working tax credit for this year by around £1000 per year. People who need money urgently continue to be able to access up to a month’s Universal Credit advance upfront by applying online. We are increasing the Local Housing Allowance rates for Universal Credit and Housing Benefit claimants so that it covers the cheapest third of local rents – which is on average £600 in people’s pockets.

Taken together, these measures represent an injection of over £6.5 billion into the welfare system and, along with the other job and business support programmes announced by the Chancellor, represent one of the most comprehensive packages of support introduced by an advanced economy in response to the coronavirus outbreak.


Written Question
Child Maintenance Service: Coronavirus
Friday 22nd May 2020

Asked by: Jonathan Reynolds (Labour (Co-op) - Stalybridge and Hyde)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many staff from the Child Maintenance Service have been temporarily redeployed to other service areas in her Department in response to the covid-19 outbreak.

Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

We have received an unprecedented number of benefit claims and are prioritising getting people that support, while maintaining an essential Child Maintenance Service.

To ensure claims are processed and people are paid on time we have already moved over 8,000 existing staff from across DWP to help with that work.

We are clear that no parent should be using this time as an excuse not to pay what they owe. Those found to be abusing the system at this difficult time could find themselves subject to the full extent of our enforcement powers.

At the start of the situation within the Child Maintenance Group, 1667 people were deployed.


Written Question
Children: Maintenance
Tuesday 19th May 2020

Asked by: David Davis (Conservative - Haltemprice and Howden)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the statutory basis is for the Child Maintenance Service to accept only verbal evidence, without supporting documentation, in relation to changes to the paying parent’s financial circumstances.

Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

In these unprecedented times, we have seen a significant increase in the number of new claims to UC - it’s right that we look to streamline our operations, and ensure that people get the support they need. No one will get away with giving false information to avoid paying what they owe and all decisions carry rights of appeal, so either parent can dispute a decision.

Those found to be abusing the system at this difficult time will find themselves subject to the full extent of our enforcement powers – including prosecution through the courts.

The Government has been clear in its commitment to support families during this public health emergency and we have made a number changes to the welfare system to ensure people are receiving the support they need. These include increasing the standard rate of Universal Credit and working tax credit for this year by around £1000 per year. People who need money urgently continue to be able to access up to a month’s Universal Credit advance upfront by applying online. In addition, Statutory Sick Pay now applies from day one, rather than the fourth day of illness. In April, in response to Covid-19 we increased Local Housing Allowance rates for housing benefit and universal credit claimants to the 30th percentile of local rents, providing additional financial support for private renters. This significant investment of almost £1 billion, ensures over 1 million households will see an increase, on average, of £600 per year

Taken together, these measures represent an injection of over £6.5 billion into the welfare system and, along with the other job and business support programmes announced by the Chancellor, represent one of the most comprehensive packages of support introduced by an advanced economy in response to the coronavirus outbreak.