Child Maintenance Service 2026-04-27
2026-04-27
TAGS
Response quality
Questions & Answers
Q1
Direct Answer
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Context
The MP is concerned about the Child Maintenance [11D [K Maintenance Service's efficiency in resolving cases promptly.
What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of t [1D [K the Child Maintenance Service in resolving cases in a timely manner. The CM [2D [K CMS publishes several metrics regarding how quickly it responds to parents. [8D [K parents. In the quarter ending September 2025, on average, 96% of applicati [9D [K applications were cleared within 12 weeks and 83% of changes of circumstanc [11D [K circumstances were cleared within 28 days.
The CMS publishes several metrics regarding how quickly [7D [K quickly it responds to parents. In the quarter ending September 2025, on av [2D [K average, 96% of applications were cleared within 12 weeks and 83% of change [6D [K changes of circumstances were cleared within 28 days.
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Assessment & feedback
Response accuracy
Q2
Partial Answer
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Context
The MP is concerned about constituents facing f [1D [K financial liability due to disputes over shared care applications.
How does the Department ensure that evidence of share [5D [K shared care is applied consistently, fairly and speedily by the CMS? What s [1D [K support is available to constituents who face continued financial liability [9D [K liability and hardship while they wait for delays in CMS decisions or tribu [5D [K tribunal outcomes to be resolved?
Shared care can be incredibly contested, and questions [K about the suitability of evidence and which evidence takes precedent are of [2D [K often disputed. The hon. Member suggests that he has particular cases that [K he would like the Department to take a look into. If he writes to me with t [1D [K them, the responsible Minister, my noble Friend Baroness Sherlock, or I wil [3D [K will provide a response.
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Assessment & feedback
The specific questions about consistent application o [1D [K of shared care evidence and support for constituents facing hardship due to [2D [K to delays were not addressed.
Suggests Writing To The Department With Particular [10D [K Particular Cases
Response accuracy
Q3
Partial Answer
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Context
The MP is concerned about the CMS's poor custom [6D [K customer service and its impact on constituents.
What steps can my hon. Friend take to rapidly improve [7D [K improve the effectiveness of the CMS? My casework inbox is inundated with c [1D [K complaints about the CMS's poor customer service, which is damaging the liv [3D [K lives of dozens of my constituents in the process.
My hon. Friend will be pleased to know that there is a [K significant improvement journey under way in the Child Maintenance Service. [8D [K Service. I am always keen to point out to Members that while we see a large [5D [K large number of CMS cases in our caseload due to the more adversarial natur [5D [K nature of the cases it deals with, it is a fraction of the overall number o [1D [K of cases that the Department deals with. We continue to ensure prompt payme [5D [K payments to more than a million children.
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Assessment & feedback
Specific steps for rapid improvement were not detaile [7D [K detailed; instead focused on general progress and scale of cases.
Keen To Point Out
Fraction Of Overall Number
Response accuracy
Q4
Partial Answer
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Context
The Child Maintenance Service faces signifi [7D [K significant delays in processing cases, leading to financial hardship for f [1D [K families. A constituent case exemplifies these issues with payments not bei [3D [K being made despite an increase following reconsideration.
My office deals with hundreds of Child Maintenanc [10D [K Maintenance Service cases. In one case, a mum applied to the CMS in June la [2D [K last year and was initially awarded just over £100. She applied for a manda [5D [K mandatory reconsideration and the figure was increased. However, the increa [6D [K increased payments have still not been made, and she is experiencing signif [6D [K significant financial hardship and stress as a result. Has the Minister con [3D [K considered how failings in the service facilitate post-separation abuse?
My noble Friend Baroness Sherlock takes a very keen [4D [K keen interest in this issue, in particular how we can look at the abolition [9D [K abolition of direct pay to subvert some of the instances of financial abuse [5D [K abuse and coercive control that we continue to see. If the hon. Lady would [K like to write to me about her specific case, I will ensure she receives a r [1D [K response.
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Assessment & feedback
Specific commitments on resolving current CMS fai [3D [K failures and providing immediate relief for ongoing financial hardship were [4D [K were not addressed.
Response accuracy
Q5
Partial Answer
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Context
Rebecca, a constituent of Catherine Atkinso [7D [K Atkinson, has not received child maintenance for over a decade with arrears [7D [K arrears exceeding £10,000. Enforcement difficulties arise due to the non-re [6D [K non-resident parent's fluctuating employment status.
My constituent Rebecca and her now 13-year-old ha [2D [K have not received child maintenance for over a decade. Arrears exceed £10,0 [5D [K £10,000, but because her son's father has moved in and out of employment he [2D [K he has evaded enforcement, even where deduction from earnings orders have b [1D [K been made. I welcome that child maintenance systems are being reformed, but [3D [K but will the Minister tell us what action will be taken so that Rebecca and [3D [K and parents in similar situations across the country get the support they a [1D [K are entitled to?
I thank my hon. Friend for her question. I know tha [3D [K that she has been representing Rebecca for some time in seeking a resolutio [9D [K resolution to that case. We seek to introduce a range of changes when parli [5D [K parliamentary time allows, but clearly there is further work to do to ensur [5D [K ensure that enforcement processes are also strengthened. Baroness Sherlock [K would be happy to discuss that with my hon. Friend if she feels that would [K be appropriate, and I would be happy to facilitate such a meeting.
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Assessment & feedback
The specific actions required for strengthening e [1D [K enforcement were not detailed.
Response accuracy
Q6
Partial Answer
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Context
The Child Maintenance Service is facing sys [3D [K systemic issues as reported by constituents, the independent case examiner [K with a rise in complaints, and reports from Gingerbread and the House of Lo [2D [K Lords Public Services Committee recommending changes.
The Child Maintenance Service is not working for [K parents and it is not working for children. My own casework shows that the [K majority of those getting in touch about the CMS believe it to be ineffecti [9D [K ineffective, with systemic issues in communication, timeliness and case han [3D [K handling. The independent case examiner received 1,827 complaints about the [3D [K the CMS in 2024-25, up from 1,519 in 2023-24. In November 2024, Gingerbread [11D [K Gingerbread published a report 'Fix the CMS'. In October 2025, a House of L [1D [K Lords Public Services Committee report recommended changes to improve the s [1D [K service. The Government have responded to both, but when will the Governmen [9D [K Government enact the changes to bring forward the recommended and acknowled [9D [K acknowledged improvements?
As I said in a previous response, we will do so whe [3D [K when parliamentary time allows. My noble Friend Baroness Sherlock is also c [1D [K considering a calculation review. There are a range of issues with the CMS [K that need to be looked at and resolved to ensure that the children in the m [1D [K middle of this get the support to which they are entitled.
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Assessment & feedback
The specific timeline for enacting changes was no [2D [K not provided.
Response accuracy