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answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
min answer › question first answered	2019-08-05T15:23:53.607Z
hansard heading	Children: Maintenance

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registered interest

date

exactly:

or between:
and

answering body

answering dept id

answering dept short name

answering dept sort name

hansard heading

house id

legislature


pref label

question text

tabling member constituency

tabling member printed

uin

answer

is ministerial correction

date of answer

exactly:

or between:
and

answer text

answering member constituency

answering member printed

grouped question UIN

question first answered

answering member


label

tabling member


label

1718865

registered interest

date

16/05/2024

answering body

Department for Work and Pensions

answering dept id

answering dept short name

Work and Pensions

answering dept sort name

Work and Pensions

hansard heading

Children: Maintenance

house id

legislature

25259

	pref label	House of Commons

question text

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to table 6 of his Department’s publication entitled Child Maintenance Service statistics: data to December 2023, published on 26 March 2024, how much child maintenance had not been paid and needed to be collected through Collect and Pay in (a) each nation, (b) each region and (c) Newcastle Central constituency as of 31 December 2023.

tabling member constituency

Newcastle upon Tyne Central

tabling member printed

Chi Onwurah

uin

26681

answer

is ministerial correction

date of answer

21/05/2024

answer text

The data provided within table 6 of the Child Maintenance Service <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6601806ff1d3a0666832ac65/national-tables-child-maintenance-service-to-december-2023.ods" target="_blank">national tables</a> is based upon transactional financial data. CMS do not capture geographical data aligned to these transactions and as such it is not possible to apportion this information to geographical regions.

answering member constituency

Blackpool North and Cleveleys

answering member printed

Paul Maynard

question first answered

21/05/2024 13:08:08

answering member

3926

	label	Biography information for Paul Maynard

tabling member

4124

	label	Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1718000

registered interest

date

14/05/2024

answering body

Department for Work and Pensions

answering dept id

answering dept short name

Work and Pensions

answering dept sort name

Work and Pensions

hansard heading

Children: Maintenance

house id

legislature

25259

	pref label	House of Commons

question text

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of cases in which domestic abuse was disclosed were referred by the Child Maintenance Service to an Advanced Customer Support Senior Leader in (a) 2021, (b) 2022 and (c) 2023.

tabling member constituency

Glenrothes

tabling member printed

Peter Grant

uin

26178

answer

is ministerial correction

date of answer

17/05/2024

answer text

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) takes the issue of domestic abuse extremely seriously and recognises that domestic abuse often continues and can worsen after separation, which can have detrimental impacts on the welfare of children. CMS therefore continues to evolve and make positive changes to the way we deliver our service and to support our case workers.We have measures in place to ensure victims and survivors of domestic abuse can access and use our services safely.Of 29,000 new applications to the CMS in the quarter ending December 2023, 56% of applications were exempt from the application fee, largely on the grounds of domestic abuse.The Department publishes quarterly statistics for the CMS. Latest statistics are available up to <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/child-maintenance-service-statistics-data-to-december-2023" target="_blank">December 2023</a>. Table 2 of the of the <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6601806ff1d3a0666832ac65/national-tables-child-maintenance-service-to-december-2023.ods" target="_blank">National tables</a> provides the volume of applications and volume of those with an exemption due to domestic abuse for the period 2021-2023. <table><tbody><tr><td rowspan="2">Quarter of Application</td><td rowspan="2">Application Fee Exemptions due to Domestic Abuse</td><td rowspan="2">Total Application Fee Exemptions</td><td>Percentage of Applications with an Exemption</td></tr><tr><td>[note 1]</td></tr><tr><td>Jan to Mar 2021</td><td>10,500</td><td>10,600</td><td>58%</td></tr><tr><td>Apr to Jun 2021</td><td>11,800</td><td>11,900</td><td>60%</td></tr><tr><td>Jul to Sep 2021</td><td>12,400</td><td>12,500</td><td>59%</td></tr><tr><td>Oct to Dec 2021</td><td>11,600</td><td>11,600</td><td>60%</td></tr><tr><td>Jan to Mar 2022</td><td>15,100</td><td>15,200</td><td>57%</td></tr><tr><td>Apr to Jun 2022</td><td>17,300</td><td>17,500</td><td>55%</td></tr><tr><td>Jul to Sep 2022</td><td>17,600</td><td>17,900</td><td>53%</td></tr><tr><td>Oct to Dec 2022</td><td>14,700</td><td>14,900</td><td>55%</td></tr><tr><td>Jan to Mar 2023</td><td>17,600</td><td>17,800</td><td>55%</td></tr><tr><td>Apr to Jun 2023</td><td>17,800</td><td>18,100</td><td>56%</td></tr><tr><td>Jul to Sep 2023</td><td>18,500</td><td>18,800</td><td>54%</td></tr></tbody></table> Furthermore, in October 2023 the CMS introduced regulations to completely remove the application fee for all families, this came into force on the 26 February 2024.We are also trialling the use of a single, named case worker team to help ensure victims of domestic abuse are appropriately supported. Evaluation of the trial will inform the future service we offer to survivors of domestic abuse.CMS have procedures to prevent unwanted contact between parents and provide advice on bank accounts with a centralised sort code so their location cannot be traced. Additionally, CMS can act as an intermediary in Direct Pay cases to facilitate the exchange of bank details, which helps to ensure no personal information is shared between parents.Further changes, The Child Support Collection (Domestic Abuse) Act 2023 received Royal Assent on 28 June 2023. On 8 May 2024, the Department published a public consultation, Improving the Collection and Transfer of Payments, which follows the Child Support Collection (Domestic Abuse) Act 2023. The consultation proposes to remove the Direct Pay service completely, which will go further than the measures set out in the Act and provide the same level of protection for all parents. The consultation closes 31st July 2024. The Government will then carefully consider the feedback and a response will be published. To find out more information go to: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/child-maintenance-improving-the-collection-and-transfer-of-payments" target="_blank">Child Maintenance: Improving the collection and transfer of payments - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).</a>We support our case workers to deliver our service by ensuring they receive appropriate training and have access to signposting and support that could be utilised to assist survivors of domestic abuse.Through extensive Stakeholder engagement CMS reviewed their domestic abuse training in 2021. Training was delivered to all case workers to ensure they are equipped to recognise coercive and controlling behaviour and appropriately signpost parents in vulnerable situations. All caseworkers have access to the District Provision Toolkit which contains the most up to date information for signposting to help and support for domestic abuse across England, Scotland, and Wales.A Domestic Abuse Plan was developed which outlines key steps for caseworkers to follow to ensure victims of domestic abuse are supported. This includes advice on contacting the police if the parent is in immediate danger or calling the police on behalf of the parent if requested to do so. Additionally, the plan directs case workers to consider a referral to an Advanced Customer Support Senior Leader if a customer requires further support. The number of ACSSL cases that have been referred by CMS colleagues, where the referral has been categorised as ‘domestic abuse’ are as follows: <table><tbody><tr><td> </td><td>2021</td><td>2022</td><td>2023*</td></tr><tr><td>ACSSL Referrals from CMS colleagues categorised as domestic abuse</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>1</td></tr></tbody></table> It should be noted that disclosure of domestic abuse does not automatically require an Advanced Customer Support Senior Leader (ACSSL) to become involved in supporting a case. Additionally domestic abuse may be reported at any stage of case, we do not gather data on all cases therefore the information requested on the proportion of referrals is not held, however given ACSSL referrals are very low this is also likely to be very low.

answering member constituency

Blackpool North and Cleveleys

answering member printed

Paul Maynard

question first answered

17/05/2024 12:27:22

answering member

3926

	label	Biography information for Paul Maynard

tabling member

4466

	label	Biography information for Peter Grant

1717559

registered interest

date

13/05/2024

answering body

Department for Work and Pensions

answering dept id

answering dept short name

Work and Pensions

answering dept sort name

Work and Pensions

hansard heading

Children: Maintenance

house id

legislature

25259

	pref label	House of Commons

question text

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Child Maintenance Service in securing funds from paying parents.

tabling member constituency

Portsmouth South

tabling member printed

Stephen Morgan

uin

25914

answer

is ministerial correction

date of answer

21/05/2024

answer text

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) has a range of strong enforcement powers that can be used against those who consistently refuse to meet their obligations to provide financial support to their children. These include forcing the sale of property, disqualification from driving or commitment to prison.   We are committed to making the most effective use of these strong enforcement powers and have made a number of improvements to our enforcement processes to make it quicker and more efficient. Since December 2022, there has been an increase from 65% to 68%, in those paying something towards their maintenance through Collect & Pay. We have recently concluded a public consultation on proposals to introduce administrative liability orders, which will significantly speed up the process and get money to children quicker, reducing the time it takes to secure an order from 22 weeks to as low as 6 weeks. The Government published their response on 12 February 2024 and will bring forward legislation as soon as possible.

answering member constituency

Blackpool North and Cleveleys

answering member printed

Paul Maynard

question first answered

21/05/2024 15:39:49

answering member

3926

	label	Biography information for Paul Maynard

tabling member

4653

	label	Biography information for Stephen Morgan

1716187

registered interest

date

07/05/2024

answering body

Department for Work and Pensions

answering dept id

answering dept short name

Work and Pensions

answering dept sort name

Work and Pensions

hansard heading

Children: Maintenance

house id

legislature

25259

	pref label	House of Commons

question text

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many child maintenance cases were moved from collect and pay to direct pay in (a) 2022 and (b) 2023.

tabling member constituency

West Lancashire

tabling member printed

Ashley Dalton

uin

25127

answer

is ministerial correction

date of answer

15/05/2024

answer text

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) operates 2 service types: Direct Pay and Collect and Pay. In Direct Pay cases, the CMS provides a maintenance calculation and issues a payment schedule, but the payments are arranged privately between the receiving parent and the paying parent. In Collect and Pay, the CMS collects the maintenance from the paying parent and transfers it to the receiving parent.Since Direct Pay was introduced, the CMS has made several improvements to how the service operates. The importance of full and on-time maintenance payments is emphasised in all cases and the CMS will notify parents at the start of every case, and at each annual review, what to do if their arrangement breaks down.The CMS also sends SMS messages to all receiving parents using the Direct Pay service to remind them to contact the CMS if their maintenance arrangement is not working. My Child Maintenance Case, which is a parent’s online service account with the CMS, also reminds parents to check their bank account for receipt of direct payments and encourages digital reporting of any missed payments.If a Direct Pay arrangement breaks down, the case will be moved to Collect and Pay where the CMS collects the money from the paying parent and transfers it to the receiving parent. Further enforcement action can also be taken if parents continue to fail to pay.Government takes the issue of domestic abuse extremely seriously and recognises that domestic abuse often continues and can worsen after separation, which can have detrimental impacts on the welfare of children.The CMS has procedures in place to ensure victims and survivors of domestic abuse can use its services safely. Of 29,000 new applications to the CMS in the quarter ending December 2023, 56% of applications were exempt from the application fee, largely on the grounds of domestic abuse.The CMS recognises that domestic abuse can take many forms including physical, emotional, or financial abuse, violent or threatening behaviour and coercive control and has procedures in place to ensure domestic abuse cases are handled appropriately.For parents using the Direct Pay service, the CMS can act as an intermediary to facilitate the exchange of bank details to help ensure there is no unwanted contact between parents and can provide information on how to set up bank accounts with a centralised sort code, which reduces the risk of a parent’s location being traced. CMS caseworkers will also signpost, where needed, to suitable domestic abuse organisations, if domestic abuse is raised or suspected.The Department publishes quarterly statistics for the CMS. Latest statistics are available up to <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/child-maintenance-service-statistics-data-to-december-2023" target="_blank">December 2023</a>, with statistics for the number of child maintenance cases moved from collect and pay to direct pay shown in ‘Table 4: Service Type Changes, Great Britain, October 2015 to December 2023’ of the <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6601806ff1d3a0666832ac65/national-tables-child-maintenance-service-to-december-2023.ods" target="_blank">National tables</a>. The information requested in relation to how many child maintenance cases were moved from collect and pay to direct pay where the child maintenance service was aware of domestic abuse in (a) 2022 and (b) 2023, is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost. The Child Support Collection (Domestic Abuse) Act 2023 received Royal Assent on 28 June 2023 following a Private Members Bill that had full Government support. We announced a consultation early 2024 to seek views on how the CMS collects and transfers maintenance. On 8 May, the Department published a public consultation, Improving the Collection and Transfer of Payments, which follows the Child Support Collection (Domestic Abuse) Act 2023 receiving Royal Assent. The consultation proposes to remove the Direct Pay service completely, which will go further than the measures set out in the Act and provide the same level of protection for all parents. The consultation closes 31st July 2024. The Government will then carefully consider the feedback and a response will be published. To find out more information go to: Child Maintenance: Improving the collection and transfer of payments - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

answering member constituency

Blackpool North and Cleveleys

answering member printed

Paul Maynard

grouped question UIN

25128
25129

question first answered

15/05/2024 13:49:18

answering member

3926

	label	Biography information for Paul Maynard

tabling member

4981

	label	Biography information for Ashley Dalton

1716188

registered interest

date

07/05/2024

answering body

Department for Work and Pensions

answering dept id

answering dept short name

Work and Pensions

answering dept sort name

Work and Pensions

hansard heading

Children: Maintenance

house id

legislature

25259

	pref label	House of Commons

question text

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many child maintenance cases were moved from collect and pay to direct pay where the child maintenance service was aware of domestic abuse in (a) 2022 and (b) 2023.

tabling member constituency

West Lancashire

tabling member printed

Ashley Dalton

uin

25128

answer

is ministerial correction

date of answer

15/05/2024

answer text

answering member constituency

Blackpool North and Cleveleys

answering member printed

Paul Maynard

grouped question UIN

25127
25129

question first answered

15/05/2024 13:49:18

answering member

3926

	label	Biography information for Paul Maynard

tabling member

4981

	label	Biography information for Ashley Dalton

1713181

registered interest

date

23/04/2024

answering body

Department for Work and Pensions

answering dept id

answering dept short name

Work and Pensions

answering dept sort name

Work and Pensions

hansard heading

Children: Maintenance

house id

legislature

25259

	pref label	House of Commons

question text

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of new Child Maintenance claims have been completed within the planned processing timescales by (a) nation and (b) region in each year since 2012.

tabling member constituency

Wallasey

tabling member printed

Dame Angela Eagle

uin

23137

answer

is ministerial correction

date of answer

01/05/2024

answer text

Table 1 - Percentage of new claims that have been completed within the planned processing timescales by benefit. <table><tbody><tr><td> </td><td>2016-17</td><td>2017-18</td><td>2018-19</td><td>2019-20</td><td>2020-21</td><td>2021-22</td><td>2022-23</td><td>2023-24</td></tr><tr><td>Jobseekers Allowance</td><td>88.6%</td><td>86.8%</td><td>80.6%</td><td>53.1%</td><td>82.5%</td><td>87.1%</td><td>67.8%</td><td>58.7%</td></tr><tr><td>Employment and Support Allowance</td><td>84.6%</td><td>85.3%</td><td>73.3%</td><td>96.1%</td><td>70.9%</td><td>42.5%</td><td>47.4%</td><td>39.5%</td></tr><tr><td>State Pension</td><td>87.9%</td><td>73.7%</td><td>86.8%</td><td>86.7%</td><td>76.2%</td><td>45.6%</td><td>72.0%</td><td>96.2%</td></tr><tr><td>Pension Credit</td><td>71.0%</td><td>55.2%</td><td>53.4%</td><td>44.8%</td><td>88.2%</td><td>74.3%</td><td>45.7%</td><td>77.7%</td></tr><tr><td>Disability Living Allowance (child)</td><td>96.8%</td><td>96.5%</td><td>96.2%</td><td>91.3%</td><td>92.1%</td><td>35.6%</td><td>4.6%</td><td>3.5%</td></tr><tr><td>Personal Independence Payment </td><td>85.1%</td><td>77.2%</td><td>72.3%</td><td>40.4%</td><td>23.0%</td><td>6.8%</td><td>38.4%</td><td>51.7%</td></tr><tr><td>Child Maintenance Service</td><td>82.8%</td><td>87.4%</td><td>88.3%</td><td>91.6%</td><td>84.3%</td><td>84.3%</td><td>79.4%</td><td>79.6%</td></tr><tr><td>Universal Credit</td><td> </td><td> </td><td>80.4%</td><td>85.2%</td><td>90.9%</td><td>85.7%</td><td>84.4%</td><td>TBC</td></tr></tbody></table> Comments to note: <ul><li>Data has been provided for the years 2016-17 to 2023-24 (UC 2018-19 to 2023-24). Previous years requested are not retained centrally and the breakdown by nation and region for services except UC would only be available at a disproportionate cost.</li></ul> <ul><li>In the spirit of answering the question we have provided table 1 above.</li></ul> Service Performance Context: Jobseekers Allowance <ul><li>From the start of the pandemic until April 2021, JSA claims were subject to easements that meant face-to-face appointment was removed. In April 2021, Claimant Commitments and regular face to face engagement requirements were reintroduced.</li></ul> Employment and Support Allowance <ul><li>ESA 2019-20 to 2023-24, the new claim process for New Style Employment and Support Allowance (NSESA) changed. In April 2020 a digital claim was introduced during Covid. Prior to this, as part of the new claim process, a period up to 10 days at beginning was never measured. With the re-designed process all time is included, so it is not possible to make a like-for-like comparison with the new claim process before April 2020.</li></ul> State Pension <ul><li>Performance was severely impacted due to the need to repivot resource to other areas, such as Universal Credit, during the global pandemic. In 2021/22, resource was re-deployed to work through the backlogs. Investment in digital services in this area has also aided recovery leading to significant performance improvements in 2023/24.</li></ul> Pension Credit <ul><li>2019/20 was impacted by substantial spikes in claims following the BBC decision to remove free TV licences. Uptake in Pension Credit has been encouraged through campaigns and again led to unprecedented claims being received when entitlement was linked to additional Cost of Living payments. This created backlogs and impacted payment timeliness as these were recovered.</li></ul> Disability Living Allowance (Child) <ul><li>Disability Living Allowance ceased in 2013 and is no longer an active benefit, it was replaced by Personal Independence Payment. Disability Living Allowance for Children continues to accept new claims and as such we have responded in respect of this benefit.</li><li>Demand for Child DLA has increased in recent years and is significantly higher than pre-pandemic volumes.</li><li>During 2020-21 we deferred case renewal activity to focus on processing new claims. Since then the service has had to service both high new claims volumes and the deferred renewal work which has led to longer processing times.</li><li>We have increased the numbers of staff working on Child DLA to respond to increase new claims volumes, and clear cases in date order to ensure fair customer service.</li></ul> Personal Independence Payment <ul><li>PIP performance represents a significant recovery compared to prior periods and the lowest average journey time recorded since 2018 (see <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/personal-independence-payment-statistics-to-january-2024" target="_blank">published statistics</a>)</li><li>PIP New Claims demand is significantly higher than pre-Covid levels, despite the devolution of Scottish claims during this period.</li></ul> Child Maintenance Service<ul><li>Child Maintenance Service application volumes have been sharply increasing with CMS receiving more than 50% more in 2023/24 than in 2021/22. This dip in performance over this time can largely be explained by this. More recently, the removal of the Application fee has also resulted in higher volumes.</li></ul> Universal Credit <ul><li>Data has been provided for the years 2018-19 to 2023-24. Detailed data by local areas is available via Stat Xplore within the Universal Credit Published Statistics (<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/universal-credit-statistics" target="_blank">Universal Credit statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a>). Previous years requested are not retained centrally or published and the breakdown by nation and region would only be available at a disproportionate cost.</li></ul> <ul><li>The 2023-24 figures for UC are not available until May as per the Statistics Release schedule.</li></ul> <ul><li>Planned timescales for all benefits are listed in table 2 below.</li></ul> Table 2: Planned Timescales for new claims (current methodology)<table><tbody><tr><td>Jobseekers Allowance</td><td>Within 10 working days</td></tr><tr><td>Employment and Support Allowance</td><td>Within 10 working days</td></tr><tr><td>State Pension</td><td>Within 20 working days of State Pension entitlement date or 20 working days of Initial date of claim if claiming after entitlement has started.</td></tr><tr><td>Pension Credit</td><td>Within 50 working days</td></tr><tr><td>Disability Living Allowance (Child)</td><td>Within 40 working days</td></tr><tr><td>Personal Independence Payment</td><td>Within 75 working days</td></tr><tr><td>Child Maintenance Service</td><td>Payment within 12 weeks</td></tr><tr><td>Universal Credit</td><td>% Full Payment 1st Assessment Period</td></tr></tbody></table> Notes: The planned timescales detailed above relate to those used for the 23/24 financial year. The timescales and methodologies to calculate them have changed over time to reflect new processes, technology and demands on our services.

answering member constituency

Blackpool North and Cleveleys

answering member printed

Paul Maynard

grouped question UIN

23130
23131
23132
23133
23134
23135
23136

question first answered

01/05/2024 14:37:14

answering member

3926

	label	Biography information for Paul Maynard

tabling member

491

	label	Biography information for Dame Angela Eagle

1700288

registered interest

date

12/04/2024

answering body

Department for Work and Pensions

answering dept id

answering dept short name

Work and Pensions

answering dept sort name

Work and Pensions

hansard heading

Children: Maintenance

house id

legislature

25259

	pref label	House of Commons

question text

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that people pay the full child maintenance costs for which they are liable.

tabling member constituency

Wansbeck

tabling member printed

Ian Lavery

uin

21039

answer

is ministerial correction

date of answer

16/04/2024

answer text

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) has a range of enforcement powers at its disposal to ensure parents meet their financial obligations to their children.These include deductions directly from earnings and bank accounts, using Enforcement Agents (previously known as bailiffs) to take control of goods, forcing the sale of property, removal of driving licence or UK passport or even commitment to prison.The Child Support (Enforcement) Act received Royal Assent in 2023. This creates a primary power to replace court-based liability orders with administrative orders, which should significantly speed up this key enforcement process. We have concluded a public consultation to support regulations to implement administrative liability orders. The Government published their response on 12 February 2024. Secondary legislation is now being developed, which, once implemented, will reduce the process from 22 weeks to as low as 6 weeks. This will be brought forward as soon as possible.

answering member constituency

Blackpool North and Cleveleys

answering member printed

Paul Maynard

question first answered

16/04/2024 15:35:55

answering member

3926

	label	Biography information for Paul Maynard

tabling member

4139

	label	Biography information for Ian Lavery

1698517

registered interest

date

25/03/2024

answering body

Department for Work and Pensions

answering dept id

answering dept short name

Work and Pensions

answering dept sort name

Work and Pensions

hansard heading

Children: Maintenance

house id

legislature

25259

	pref label	House of Commons

question text

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will take steps to ensure that information on how to challenge decisions is available through the Child Maintenance Service portal.

tabling member constituency

North East Fife

tabling member printed

Wendy Chamberlain

uin

20427

answer

is ministerial correction

date of answer

16/04/2024

answer text

Significant improvements have been made to the online service ‘My Child Maintenance Case’ allowing Child Maintenance Service customers to digitally report a large range of changes that impact their case. If a customer believes the Child Maintenance Service have made the wrong decision about how much child maintenance must be paid or received, they can ask the Child Maintenance Service to look at the decision again under their mandatory reconsideration process. Information on how to request a mandatory reconsideration is included within any decision notification. Further information is also available on gov.uk. <a href="https://www.gov.uk/child-maintenance-service" target="_blank">Child Maintenance Service: What child maintenance is - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a> & <a href="https://www.gov.uk/mandatory-reconsideration" target="_blank">Challenge a benefit decision (mandatory reconsideration): Eligibility - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a>. A dispute or a mandatory reconsideration cannot currently be reported online. However, following a decision being made, if a parent raises a linked change via My Child Maintenance Case within 32 days of the original decision, this will automatically be considered as a mandatory reconsideration request. For example, a parent raises a shared care change on My Child Maintenance Case within 32 days of a shared care decision being made, the Child Maintenance Service will look at the original decision under a mandatory reconsideration. Plans are in place to improve the information provided to child maintenance customers. This will provide a clear digital route to guide customers on how to challenge a decision through My Child Maintenance Case. These changes are being looked at in 2024/25.

answering member constituency

Blackpool North and Cleveleys

answering member printed

Paul Maynard

question first answered

16/04/2024 15:28:15

answering member

3926

	label	Biography information for Paul Maynard

tabling member

4765

	label	Biography information for Wendy Chamberlain

1697418

registered interest

date

20/03/2024

answering body

Department for Work and Pensions

answering dept id

answering dept short name

Work and Pensions

answering dept sort name

Work and Pensions

hansard heading

Children: Maintenance

house id

legislature

25259

	pref label	House of Commons

question text

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to reduce call waiting times to the child maintenance service; and whether he has made a recent assessment of the adequacy of call handling times by that service.

tabling member constituency

Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey

tabling member printed

Drew Hendry

uin

19632

answer

is ministerial correction

date of answer

25/03/2024

answer text

As part of its Modernisation Programme, CMS continues to improve how it communicates with customers and how customers access its service. When a customer first applies for CMS they are enrolled on the online service which provides them the ability to update their information and request changes 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The majority of our customers make use of these online services to effectively meet their needs every day, though we are actively engaged in improving the service further and increasing customer take up. We recognise some customers need alternative methods to contact us or choose to call us, and on occasion call wait times on our inbound phone lines can be longer than we would like. Speed to answer is continually reviewed throughout the working day and operational resource is regularly reviewed and flexed to minimise excessive wait times. Over the coming year we will increase customer education on what can be raised and progressed using our online services and encourage more customers to make use of this as the primary channel for their CMS enquiries. This will help protect our inbound phones lines for our customers that need to access our service in this way and reduce the wait time they experience.

answering member constituency

Blackpool North and Cleveleys

answering member printed

Paul Maynard

question first answered

25/03/2024 16:48:16

answering member

3926

	label	Biography information for Paul Maynard

tabling member

4467

	label	Biography information for Drew Hendry

1696806

registered interest

date

18/03/2024

answering body

Department for Work and Pensions

answering dept id

answering dept short name

Work and Pensions

answering dept sort name

Work and Pensions

hansard heading

Children: Maintenance

house id

legislature

25259

	pref label	House of Commons

question text

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Complex Needs Toolkit is used by the Child Maintenance Service.

tabling member constituency

North East Fife

tabling member printed

Wendy Chamberlain

uin

19185

answer

is ministerial correction

date of answer

26/03/2024

answer text

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) takes the issue of domestic abuse extremely seriously and is committed to ensuring that victims of abuse get the help and support they need to use the Service safely. CMS has a Complex Needs Toolkit for its caseworkers, which includes clear steps to follow to support customers who are experiencing abuse. To improve the quality of the information we provide our customers, from 1 April we will start using the DWP District Provision Tool (DPT) and retire the Complex Needs Toolkit. The DPT contains the most up to date information for customer help and support across England, Scotland, and Wales. CMS refreshed its approach and understanding of domestic abuse to include financial and coercive control and better awareness of how this affects all genders. A Domestic Abuse Plan has been developed which outlines key steps for caseworkers to follow to ensure victims of domestic abuse are supported. This includes advice on contacting the police if the parent is in immediate danger. Caseworkers can also call the police on behalf of the parent if requested to do so. As well as The Domestic Abuse Plan, 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 are no plans to publish The Domestic Abuse Plan as it is a tool within CMS instructions for caseworkers to follow. We reviewed domestic abuse training in 2021 to ensure caseworkers are equipped to support parents in vulnerable situations. This included reviewing the Home Office’s updated statutory guidance on coercive and controlling behaviour to ensure CMS staff are equipped to recognise this form of domestic abuse and signpost parents appropriately. In November 2023, a range of external stakeholders were invited to two workshops and were provided with an overview of the current CMS domestic abuse training to ensure it is in line with best practice. This opportunity allowed stakeholders to offer insight and feedback which can help feed into the evolution of future domestic abuse training. We are currently consulting with a range of external organisations and charities to help us enhance and modernise our learning to incorporate the broadest and most up to date information about dealing with victims and survivors of abuse. There are no plans to publish the training programme. We have a comprehensive learning journey for established and new colleagues. Domestic abuse training is covered in the second week of colleagues joining CMS to ensure colleagues have the knowledge and tools available to support customers. Through extensive Stakeholder engagement and the evolution of domestic abuse training, CMS continues to evolve and make positive changes to the way we deliver our service in order to support our caseworkers; including developing a trauma informed approach to complex cases and cases involving domestic abuse. We commenced trialling the use of a single, named case worker team to help ensure victims of domestic abuse are appropriately supported. Evaluation of the trial has commenced, and this will inform the future service offer for survivors of domestic abuse. Additionally, CMS has processes to ensure there is no unwanted contact between parents and provides advice on bank accounts with a centralised sort code so their location cannot be traced. We act as an intermediary in Direct Pay cases to facilitate the exchange of bank details, which helps to ensure no personal information is shared between parents. The Service also signposts to appropriate charities and support lines. The Child Support Collection (Domestic Abuse) Act received Royal Assent on 28 June 2023 following a Private Members Bill that had full Government support. The Act will allow for a CMS to place a child maintenance case onto the Collect & Pay service where it is requested by either parent, and there is evidence of domestic abuse against the requesting parent or children in their household by the other parent involved in the case. The Act is reliant on secondary legislation required to implement the measures in the Act and set out the procedures and evidence requirements. We have announced a consultation to seek views on how the CMS collects and transfers maintenance in response to the Domestic Abuse Act receiving royal assent. We are in the process of finalising the details of the consultation and aim to publish it as soon as possible.

answering member constituency

Blackpool North and Cleveleys

answering member printed

Paul Maynard

grouped question UIN

19186
19187
19188
19189

question first answered

26/03/2024 11:52:29

answering member

3926

	label	Biography information for Paul Maynard

tabling member

4765

	label	Biography information for Wendy Chamberlain