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Child Maintenance: Improving the Collection and Transfer of Payments - Public Consultation
08 May 2024
Type
Written Ministerial Statement
Department
Department for Work and Pensions
At a Glance
Issue Summary
The statement discusses a public consultation on improving the collection and transfer of child maintenance payments to support separated families.
Action Requested
The Government proposes exploring wide-ranging reforms, including potentially removing the direct pay service and managing all cases through a streamlined service. This aims to address non-compliance issues, provide better protection for victims of domestic abuse, and ease family-based arrangements. The consultation document will be placed in the House Library.
Key Facts
- Families receiving child maintenance payments received £2.8 billion annually between 2021 and 2023.
- Around 160,000 children are kept out of poverty each year due to these payments.
- The direct pay service is identified as not achieving its objective of encouraging family-based arrangements.
- Hidden non-compliant cases on direct pay result in delays and arrears build-up.
- The Child Support Collection (Domestic Abuse) Act received Royal Assent in June 2023.
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