Written questions by Tugendhat.

How many and what proportion of Child Maintenance Service cases have been transferred from direct pay to collect and pay due to non-compliance in each of the last three years.

The Department publishes quarterly Child Maintenance Service official statistics. In the latest National tables, Table 3 provides data on the number of arrangements moving from one service type to another within the Child Maintenance Service from October 2015 to September 2015. The table includes the number of Direct Pay arrangements at the start of each quarter and the number of arrangements moving from Direct Pay to Collect and Pay during the quarter.

What estimate he has made of the number of parents on default rate calculations in each of the last three years.

The Department estimates that there were approximately 2,900 paying parents with a Default Maintenance Decision (DMD) as of June 2025. These were identified by searching for cases that had liability amounts and numbers of children corresponding to the current DMD rates. Counts from previous years are not readily available.

How many Child Maintenance Service cases involving cross border maintenance arrangements were (a) opened and (b) successfully enforced in each of the last five years.

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) defines cross-border maintenance arrangements to mean applications where one or more parties live outside the United Kingdom (UK).In the past five years, CMS has received no applications involving cross-border maintenance.CMS can only act where the receiving parent, paying parent and any qualifying children are habitually resident in the UK. It has no jurisdiction otherwise. Such cases fall under international arrangements known as Reciprocal Enforcement of Maintenance Orders (REMO).REMO allows UK courts to register and enforce child maintenance orders in countries that have reciprocal arrangements with the UK. These arrangements allow maintenance claims across borders and enable registration and enforcement of orders internationally. Enforcement depends on cooperation with overseas authorities and varies by jurisdiction, including EU countries.

How many (a) driving licenses and (b) passports have been (i) suspended and (ii) disqualified as a result of child maintenance non payment in each of the last five years.

The 2012 child maintenance reforms are designed to increase cooperation between separated parents and to ensure that children receive appropriate financial support. Where family-based arrangements are not suitable, the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) operates a statutory scheme and applies a Payment Compliance strategy to address non payment.CMS has strengthened enforcement powers which include applying for suspension or disqualification of driving licences and passports in cases of persistent non-payment. These powers are applied proportionately and in the best interests of children, and their deterrent effect ensures that their use remains low.The Department regularly publishes Child Maintenance Service official statistics, with the latest statistics available to September 2025. Table 6.2 of the accompanying National tables provides the outcome information where the CMS applied to courts to sanction Paying Parents for non-compliance. The table shows quarterly statistics for both suspended and immediate driving disqualifications and passport confiscations for England & Wales and for Scotland, between July 2019 and September 2025.

How many Child Maintenance Service applications were closed as incomplete in each of the last five years.

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) plays a vital role in safeguarding the financial welfare of children by handling applications for maintenance. However, some applications are closed as incomplete, commonly due to missing or insufficient information.Applications which are deemed substantially incomplete, with entire missing sections, can be closed immediately. If an application is partially incomplete, CMS sends a development request asking for the missing information within a set timeframe. If a response is received the application can proceed, failure to respond typically leads to closure.While we hold data on the overall volume of case closures, this information does not include a breakdown by incomplete cases. Producing this level of detail would require significant manual analysis and exceed the cost limits set.

How many cases have been closed by the Child Maintenance Service in each of the last five years; and what were the primary reasons for closure.

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) operates under statutory guidelines to ensure maintenance arrangements are managed effectively and remains committed to supporting parents and ensuring that child maintenance arrangements are fair, sustainable, and responsive to changing circumstances.The Department regularly publishes Child Maintenance Service official statistics, with the latest statistics available to September 2025. Table 3 of the accompanying National tables provides the number of arrangements moving from one service type to another within the Child Maintenance Service each quarter. In addition, the table shows the number of arrangements which were closed between October 2015 and September 2025.The information requested on the reasons for closure is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

How many times the Child Maintenance Service IT system has experienced a (a) full outage and (b) partial service disruption in the last 12 months.

The Child Maintenance Service IT system has had no full outages in the past 12 months. The service is supported by multiple digital products rather than a single system, so the data for part (b) is not held centrally and retrieving it would be disproportionately costly.

How many Deduction from Earnings Orders and Deduction Orders from bank accounts are active.

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) uses Deduction from Earnings Orders and Deduction Orders from bank accounts to help ensure parents meet their maintenance responsibilities. The number of active orders varies over time as cases progress through compliance and enforcement activity. The Department regularly publishes Child Maintenance Service official statistics, with the latest statistics available to September 2025, with detailed quarterly statistics on CMS Paying Parents available on Stat-Xplore. Using the ‘Method of Payment’ variable can identify the number of paying parents who used ‘Deduction from Earnings Order’ or ‘Deduction from Earnings Request’ methods to pay Child Maintenance liabilities, as at the end of each quarter. Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest and, if needed, can access guidance on how to extract the information required.

Which international child maintenance systems his Department has reviewed in the last five years as comparators for reform of the Child Maintenance Service; and what key lessons were identified.

The Child Maintenance Service keeps international practice under review and draws on lessons from other systems where appropriate. In recent years, we have looked at approaches in countries including Australia, New Zealand, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and the United States. While international approaches differ and direct comparisons are challenging, our review indicates that the UK Child Maintenance system is effective at tackling child poverty. In the UK, child maintenance payments do not reduce benefit entitlements, which boosts household income and strengthens efforts to reduce child poverty. By separating child maintenance from benefits, the UK approach strengthens its impact on reducing poverty and may improve incentives to pay, ensuring the support is meaningful for both parents.

How many staff the Child Maintenance Service employs; and what the average caseload is per caseworker in the (a) enforcement, (b) calculation and (c) complaints teams.

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) employs staff across a range of operational functions to support the effective administration of child maintenance arrangements. Staffing levels and the nature of work vary between business areas, including enforcement, calculation and complaints, reflecting the different responsibilities and complexity of activity undertaken within each team.As of 30 November 2025, CMS employed 4,972 staff. This comprises 4,148 staff employed by the Department for Work and Pensions in Great Britain and 824 staff employed by the Department for Communities in Northern Ireland.CMS does not routinely apply, or publish, a caseload per caseworker measure. This is because such a metric can be misleading: not all cases have active work attached to them at any given time, while others may generate multiple work items and require different levels of intervention depending on their complexity. Volumes also constantly fluctuate as a case progresses and is therefore only accurate in that moment of time.While individual caseloads are not calculated, CMS continually monitors workloads and resources across all operational areas to ensure cases are managed effectively. The service is currently resourced at a level appropriate to its operational demand, ensuring that support is directed to the teams and functions where it is most needed.

What training modules on domestic abuse and financial coercion are mandatory for Child Maintenance Service staff; and how many staff have completed that training in the last 12 months.

The Department for Work and Pensions take domestic abuse and financial coercion extremely seriously and ensures that all Child Maintenance Service (CMS) colleagues are equipped to provide appropriate support to customers.All CMS colleagues complete mandatory training on Domestic Abuse, which includes content on financial abuse. This training enables staff to recognise, understand, and respond safely and appropriately to customers who are experiencing or have experienced domestic abuse. The Department regularly reviews and updates mandatory training to maintain its relevance and effectiveness.In addition to mandatory training, the Department provides refresher training on Domestic Abuse to reinforce understanding and maintain high standards of service.

What estimate he has made of the number of paying parents using (a) cash-based and (b) undeclared income sources to avoid maintenance payments; and what steps the Child Maintenance Service is taking to identify hidden earnings.

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) focuses on maximising compliance and identifying hidden earnings through measures such as datasharing with HMRC.Information about the paying parent's gross income is taken directly from HM Revenue and Customs (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 CMS have reason to believe paying parents maybe 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.

How many children are included in Child Maintenance Service cases in which the paying parent has been subject to three or more separate enforcement actions for non payment.

The information requested on the number of children in Child Maintenance Service cases which have been subject to three or more separate enforcement actions is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

How many Child Maintenance Service cases in each of the last five years have had a safeguarding flag applied due to domestic abuse concerns; and how many of those cases involved Collect and Pay arrangements.

The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost. The Child Maintenance Serviced (CMS) takes the issue of domestic abuse very seriously and is committed to ensuring victims and survivors of abuse get the help and support they need to use the CMS safely. CMS caseworkers are provided with domestic abuse training to ensure they understand, recognise and respond safely and appropriately to customers who are experiencing domestic abuse, or are survivors of domestic abuse. A programme of refresher training has been underway for all existing CMS colleagues during 2025. There is a specialist team in place in CMS who deliver targeted support to parents subject to the most challenging and complex domestic abuse.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of Child Maintenance Service safeguarding procedures for parents who have experienced domestic abuse; and whether changes have been made to those procedures recently.

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) takes the issue of domestic abuse very seriously and is committed to ensuring victims and survivors of abuse get the help and support they need to use the CMS safely. The CMS has substantially strengthened its procedures and processes to support customers who are experiencing domestic abuse. They will not be complacent and will always look at ways to go even further. The CMS has refreshed its approach and understanding of domestic abuse to include financial and coercive control and better awareness of how abuse affects all genders. A programme of refresher training has been underway for all existing CMS colleagues during 2025. The CMS has access to resources which help caseworkers provide signposting to supporting organisations, and a Domestic Abuse Plan which includes clear steps to follow in order to support customers who are experiencing abuse. The list of resources and Domestic Abuse Plan are regularly reviewed. As well as the Domestic Abuse Plan, the CMS responds to cases involving domestic abuse in several ways, including by acting as an intermediary in Direct Pay cases, and providing advice on how to set up bank accounts with a centralised sort code to limit the risk of a parent’s location being traced. There is a specialist team in CMS who deliver targeted support to parents subject to the most challenging and complex domestic abuse. We have implemented a more efficient process to move a case to collect and pay when the receiving parent reports missed payments.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of Child Maintenance Service delays and errors on child poverty levels and low-income households.

We know that children in separated families are poorer and more likely to live in poverty than those in non-separated families. Child maintenance payments through both statutory and non-statutory arrangements keep approximately 120,000 children out of poverty each year. The Department legally relies on data from HM Revenue & Customs and its own benefits data to assess 90% of paying parents earned income and benefit status, which are key parts of the maintenance calculation and maintains a stable accuracy rate of 99.5% CMS undertake regular quality assurance checks and continually monitors processes to identify improvements.

What the annual collection rate is for child maintenance under (a) Collect and Pay and (b) Direct Pay.

The Department regularly publishes Child Maintenance Service official statistics, with the latest statistics available to September 2025. Table 4 and Table 5 of the accompanying National tables provide information on the amount of child maintenance that should have been paid through Direct Pay and Collect and Pay arrangements, as well as the amounts that remain unpaid under each method.

How many Child Maintenance Service cases involve missed payments for more than three months before enforcement action begins; and what factors account for delays.

The information requested on the time from missed payments to enforcement action is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost. The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) remains committed to ensuring that children receive the financial support to which they are entitled and will always attempt to secure alternative methods of payments to gain improved compliance in cases where this fails. While enforcement aims to be swift, paying parents have a right to appeal, which can delay proceedings. The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) must balance timely action with procedural fairness.

How many Child Maintenance Service enforcement actions in the most recent year for which data is available resulted in (a) full recovery of arrears, (b) partial recovery of arrears and (c) no recovery of arrears, by type of enforcement action.

The information requested on the number of Child Maintenance Service (CMS) enforcement actions that resulted in full, partial or no recovery of arrears, broken down by type of enforcement action, is not readily available, and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

What assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of enforcement, including the recovery rate following (a) liability orders, (b) bailiff action and (c) deduction orders.

The Department monitors the effectiveness of Child Maintenance Service (CMS) enforcement processes to ensure compliance and support the collection of maintenance owed to children. The information requested on assessments of the effectiveness of individual enforcement routes, including recovery rates is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost. However, the Department publishes Child Maintenance Service (CMS) statistics regularly, and the latest statistics on enforcement actions taken by CMS, including the amount of money collected, are available for September 2025 in the latest data tables. ‘Table 6.1: Enforcement Actions, Great Britain, April 2015 to September 2025’ provides information on the amounts recovered and actions taken by CMS, including sanctions and other Civil Enforcement actions. Please refer to the ‘Notes’ provided below the tables and the ‘Child Maintenance Service statistics: background information and methodology’ document for further detail and guidance on interpretation.