Recommendations & Conclusions
15 items
1
Conclusion
Sixth Report - Children in poverty: Chi…
Accepted
We welcome the Child Support Collection (Domestic Abuse) Bill and the Child Support (Enforcement) Bill and their aims. We provide information later in this Report on how these pieces of legislation will help improve the effectiveness of the Child Maintenance Service.
Government response. The government shares the Committee's view on effective enforcement and states that DWP has already made substantial improvements to the CMS enforcement process, aiming to maximize efficiency and effectiveness on a case-by-case basis.
Department for Work and Pensions
2
Conclusion
Sixth Report - Children in poverty: Chi…
Accepted
One of the purposes of the reforms introducing the Child Maintenance Service was to increase the number of effective arrangements between parents. There is a paucity of data on how many Direct Pay arrangements are effective, which in turn obscures the level of child maintenance not being paid. This inhibits …
Government response. The government highlights that DWP has conducted two large-scale research projects (in 2016 and 2022) on Direct Pay effectiveness, showing high payment rates for enduring arrangements. It also notes that CMS sends SMS messages at three months and annually to …
Department for Work and Pensions
3
Conclusion
Sixth Report - Children in poverty: Chi…
Accepted
Cases moving from Direct Pay to Collect and Pay appear to have substantial arrears on average. The Department should more systematically and swiftly move ineffective Direct Pay cases into Collect and Pay. To do this, the Department should consider imposing a change to how cases are moved to Collect and …
Government response. The government stated it has already introduced dedicated teams to swift action requests for change to Collect and Pay and allows 24/7 reporting of missed payments. It is also embarking on a Modernisation Programme to separate the administration of direct …
Department for Work and Pensions
4
Recommendation
Sixth Report - Children in poverty: Chi…
Accepted
For many receiving parents child maintenance payments are vital to avoiding or at least stymying the effects of hardship but enforcement is currently slow and often ineffective. We have heard that, while enforcement on Collect and Pay has improved, for many receiving parents enforcement remains ineffective in securing maintenance. We …
Government response. The government acknowledged the need for effective enforcement and stated it has already improved enforcement processes, including virtual court presenting. It highlights ongoing legislative changes via the Child Support (Enforcement) Private Members Bill, which, if passed, will remove the requirement …
Department for Work and Pensions
7
Conclusion
Sixth Report - Children in poverty: Chi…
Accepted
Cases are complex where the paying parent’s income is from self-employment or non- earned income. To ensure that a fair arrangement is reached for both receiving and paying parents in these circumstances, a specialist caseworker should be assigned to such cases supported by clear guidance on identifying income sources.
Government response. The government stated that complex earnings (like unearned income) are currently handled through caseworker intervention or referred to a specialist financial investigation unit. It is planning to include unearned income in the initial calculation using HMRC data, which aims to …
Department for Work and Pensions
14
Recommendation
Sixth Report - Children in poverty: Chi…
Accepted
Research like the Government’s 2022 separated families survey helps form a useful evidence base for effective policy formation. Research on why parents do not have maintenance arrangements but want one would be valuable. We recommend that the Government conduct further research on the reasons parents who want maintenance arrangements do …
Government response. The government stated it continues to monitor separated families and is undertaking initiatives to increase CMS awareness. It is training staff in jobcentres and Universal Credit to signpost parents to the "Get Help Arranging Child Maintenance" service for support. It …
Department for Work and Pensions
18
Recommendation
Sixth Report - Children in poverty: Chi…
Accepted
The Department’s work on maintenance calculations should prioritise the interests and welfare of the impacted children. In particular the potential implications of changes to maintenance levels on the number of children in poverty must be carefully considered and the implications for other policies (such as state support for parents with …
Government response. The government commits to a fundamental review of the child maintenance calculation, including updating research on children's costs, assessing the scope for including both parental incomes, and exploring legislative changes, aligning with the call to prioritise children's welfare.
Department for Work and Pensions
19
Recommendation
Sixth Report - Children in poverty: Chi…
Accepted
We have heard that the current child maintenance system incentivises parental conflict under a “winner takes all system” and there appear to be strong arguments in favour of reform away from such a system. However, reform towards an alternative model, such as an income share model, would require careful consideration …
Government response. The government accepts the recommendation to consider an income-share model, stating it has begun a fundamental review of the child maintenance calculation to update research and ensure it reflects today’s social trends, which will include assessing the scope to incorporate …
Department for Work and Pensions
20
Conclusion
Sixth Report - Children in poverty: Chi…
Accepted
The CMS should ensure its guidance is clear on situations of 50/50 day-to-day care and that, where court orders are made under the expectation of care being equally split, no maintenance is deemed to be due. The use of child benefit to determine that maintenance is indeed due appears to …
Government response. The government committed to reviewing CMS caseworker guidance on 50/50 day-to-day care to ensure accurate decisions using all available evidence, including court orders. However, it disagreed that child benefit is a blunt tool for determining the receiving parent, defending its …
Department for Work and Pensions
22
Conclusion
Sixth Report - Children in poverty: Chi…
Accepted
We are concerned about the prospect that the Child Maintenance Service is pursuing arrears inherited from the Child Support Agency that cannot be properly evidenced, although we acknowledge not collecting such arrears would impact the relevant receiving parent. We request that the Department, in its response to this Report, set …
Government response. The government states it has already addressed historic CSA arrears through an 'arrears cleanse' process, allowing parents to make representations and disputing debt. Uncollectable debt can then be considered for write-off through existing procedures.
Department for Work and Pensions
23
Conclusion
Sixth Report - Children in poverty: Chi…
Accepted
We have received evidence critical of the correspondence provided by the Child Maintenance Service. For example, paying parents reported asking for details on how substantial arrears had accrued and receiving no effective information in response. This risks exacerbating hostility by preventing paying parents from having confidence in the debts being …
Government response. The government acknowledges issues with historic CSA arrears and states it previously addressed these by closing old cases and conducting a 'case cleanse' process to stabilize debt balances. Both parents were given outstanding debt information and an opportunity to dispute …
Department for Work and Pensions
26
Conclusion
Sixth Report - Children in poverty: Chi…
Accepted
We strongly support the Child Maintenance Service’s plans to move to having a named caseworker, initially for customers in abusive situations before eventually being rolled out to all customers. The experience of having to recount one’s story multiple times was a particular issue we heard about in our inquiry and …
Government response. The government has commenced a pilot program providing a single named caseworker for complex domestic abuse cases, accepting recommendations from an independent review. Findings from this pilot will inform future decisions regarding a wider rollout as part of CMS's Modernisation …
Department for Work and Pensions
27
Recommendation
Sixth Report - Children in poverty: Chi…
Accepted
We have heard that perceptions of the levels of customer service of the CMS continue to be poor for both paying and receiving parents. The Department should develop its management information to allow it to demonstrate it is delivering good customer service and report publicly on this regularly. We recommend …
Government response. The government states it is focused on improving customer experience with a new Customer Experience Strategy and ongoing modernisation. It notes that the 2020/21 Customer Experience Survey annual report was published in May 2023 and that it reviews its CES …
Department for Work and Pensions
29
Recommendation
Sixth Report - Children in poverty: Chi…
Accepted
The current opening hours of the CMS helpline were criticised in our roundtable discussions, particularly from parents who had work commitments. We recommend the Government trial different opening hours for the CMS, to include weekends. This could be achieved by reducing the opening hours on some weekdays.
Government response. The government states that CMS opening hours are regularly reviewed based on demand and that they have recently extended telephony service to 6pm on weekdays. However, it does not commit to trialling weekend opening hours as recommended.
Department for Work and Pensions
30
Conclusion
Sixth Report - Children in poverty: Chi…
Accepted
Customers only being able to contact the CMS via letters or telephone is slow and antiquated. The CMS should introduce an electronic messaging system, or at least an ability for customers to contact them by e-mail to provide greater levels of customer convenience.
Government response. The government states that CMS has already significantly improved communication channels by introducing digital services as the preferred contact method, allowing customers to update information and request changes 24/7. This implies an existing electronic system.
Department for Work and Pensions