Source · Select Committees · Work and Pensions Committee
Recommendation 6
6
Rejected
Paragraph: 39
Provide receiving parents with illustrative evidence list and guidance for FIU referrals.
Conclusion
The Department’s own assessment to the NAO “that around 50% of fraud referrals to its Financial Investigations Unit are unfounded” indicates that the system is not functioning as it should be, and, as we will return to later, demonstrates how conflict is encouraged. The Department currently requires evidence for referrals to its Financial Investigations Unit “to safeguard against vexatious claims”. An illustrative 46 Children in poverty: Child Maintenance Service list of the evidence required to make a referral to the Financial Investigations Unit should be made available to receiving parents, alongside guidance on where they might reliably find such evidence. The Department should also set out, in response to this Report, how it will reduce the number of unfounded claims reaching the Financial Investigations Unit, thus improving the experience for receiving and paying parents.
Government Response Summary
The government disagreed with the committee's assessment that the Financial Investigation Unit referral system is not functioning correctly. While it continues to enhance its fraud strategy and noted a high percentage of investigations result in assessment changes, it only committed to exploring options to educate customers on services offered, rather than providing specific guidance or setting out how it will reduce unfounded claims.
Paragraph Reference:
39
Government Response
Rejected
HM Government
Rejected
The CMS takes fraud very seriously and works tirelessly to ensure fair and regular maintenance payments for all families who need to use its services. The CMS use every means at its disposal to ensure children receive the maintenance they are entitled to, however, where parents actively try to avoid their financial responsibilities towards their children, it is inherently more difficult to achieve this. Given the highly contested nature of many of our cases, it is not surprising that a significant proportion of our investigations show no fraud has taken place, given the lack of trust between parents and their determination to ensure they do the best for their children. We therefore disagree with the committee’s assessment that the current Financial Investigation Unit referral system is not functioning as it should. The department continues to enhance its Fraud Strategy in a way that maintains the current professional rigor and focus on collections, whilst extending the scope to include a proactive approach to identifying and tackling fraud in the system. Published statistics reflect an uplift in reassessments. In the 12 months to December 2022, 57% of Financial Investigation outcomes resulted in assessment change. A referral to the Financial Investigation Unit should be based on credible information for example, personal knowledge gained during the customers relationship, information relating to knowledge of the Paying Parents employment or lifestyle, or material gained from social media where customers may be advertising assets or employment. The department are committed to exploring options to educate customers on the financial investigation services offered. 6 Children in poverty: Child Maintenance Service: Government Response