Child Maintenance Services — [Derek Twigg in the Chair]

Paid tribute to staff members in MPs' offices who handle challenging CMS cases and supported the lead MP's concerns regarding communication between DWP and HMRC.

He apologised for being late due to participating in questions in the main Chamber and asked how cases of individuals who are reluctant to make child maintenance payments, especially self-employed men with high living standards but reported low incomes, can be addressed. Jim Shannon apologised for not being present earlier and raised concerns about men transferring assets to their parents to avoid child maintenance payments. He also inquired if there was a mechanism within the new legislation to address this issue. Additionally, he asked whether there would be a specified timescale for investigations under the changes proposed by the Minister.

She praised the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross for securing the debate and highlighted that child maintenance affects 2.4 million separated families with 3.5 million children, only half of whom have an effective management arrangement in place. She stressed the importance of child maintenance payments in reducing child poverty and noted that the National Audit Office receives more correspondence on this issue than any other single topic.

Margaret Ferrier expressed gratitude for the Child Maintenance Service APPG and highlighted ongoing difficulties her constituents face in receiving payments. She noted that despite previous debates, there have been no meaningful changes, indicating the system's inadequacy. She welcomed Dr Samantha Callan's report on the CMS response to domestic abuse and its recommendations for reforming the collect and pay service for survivors of domestic abuse without paying parent consent. Ferrier also raised issues regarding direct pay method misuse by abusive ex-partners and the inefficiency in communication between Government Departments, urging for better support and improved interdepartmental communication. She echoed concerns about poor communication and non-delivery of promised call-backs, which she believes exacerbate the mental wellbeing problems faced by parents using the CMS service.

Marion Fellows expressed concern about the accumulation of unpaid maintenance since 2012, amounting to £512.6 million. She highlighted that the Child Maintenance Service has not improved over seven and a half years and called for stronger enforcement actions against non-compliant parents. Additionally, she pointed out the issue of economic abuse where paying parents use child maintenance as a tool to harm their ex-partners financially, with 53% of new CMS applicants recognised as survivors of domestic abuse in Q3 2022.

Highlighted a case of a constituent, Danielle, who was forced to contact the Child Maintenance Service after her ex-partner refused to pay maintenance. The employer did not forward payment to CMS, leading to financial difficulties for Danielle and potential long-term consequences.

She highlighted the incompetence of the Child Maintenance Service in dealing with sensitive cases, mentioning a case where a mother pursued her ex-husband for nine years and another where a father paid £18,000 in arrears despite evidence from HMRC showing he was not earning during that period. She emphasised the need for CMS to work better with HMRC and take enforcement action.

She highlighted issues with customer service, case management delays due to IT errors, underreporting of income by paying parents, and the use of direct pay in cases of domestic abuse. She raised concerns about the 4% deduction applied to collect and pay service recipients.

She stressed the importance of speed in implementing child maintenance enforcement processes, suggesting that involving courts can delay such processes. She also invited consideration of her private Member's Bill on child maintenance enforcement options with Government backing.