Source · Select Committees · Work and Pensions Committee
Sixth Report - Children in poverty: Child Maintenance Service
Work and Pensions Committee
HC 272
Published 27 April 2023
Recommendations
11
Acknowledged
Para 57
Provide a detailed timetable for implementing recommendations from domestic abuse review work.
Recommendation
We thank Dr Samantha Callan for her independent and detailed report on the Child Maintenance Service’s response to domestic abuse and we welcome the broadly positive approach the Government has taken in its response to that review, accepting most of …
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Government Response Summary
The government outlines several ongoing actions related to the domestic abuse review, including incorporating principles into training, reviewing materials, and trialling single named caseworkers, but does not provide a specific timetable for this work as requested.
Department for Work and Pensions
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17
Acknowledged
Para 78
Legislation requires rebalancing to enable easier changes to child maintenance thresholds.
Recommendation
As part of its work on affordability, the Department should also seek to rebalance legislation so that changes, such as uprating maintenance thresholds, can be made more readily, for example through secondary legislation.
Government Response Summary
The government states that consideration will be given to moving child maintenance calculation provisions into secondary legislation to allow for more readily updated maintenance thresholds, as part of a broader fundamental review.
Department for Work and Pensions
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28
Acknowledged
Para 112
Review support and training for CMS staff within six months and report findings
Recommendation
We acknowledge that staff working for the Child Maintenance Service can have a difficult caseload and come across difficult and distressing situations routinely as part of their work. To ensure that staff are able to support customers, appropriate training and …
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Government Response Summary
The government agrees on the importance of staff support and training, stating that CMS already proactively and continually reviews, evaluates, and enhances support tools and training materials. It commits to taking timely action to identify and offer additional training where improvements can be made, but does not commit to the requested specific review within six months or reporting findings to the Committee.
Department for Work and Pensions
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Conclusions (4)
5
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Para 38
Evidence to us has raised particular concern about the fraudulent practices employed by some paying parents to reduce maintenance calculations but the Department has not made an estimate of the level of undetected customer fraud and error within the system. We repeat the Public Accounts Committee’s recommendation that the Department …
Government Response Summary
The government outlined its existing controls to combat fraud, including a dedicated Financial Investigation Unit and reliance on HMRC data for most income. It stated it is planning to include unearned income in initial calculations using HMRC data and has consulted on this, but did not commit to assessing or publishing an overall fraud and error estimate or reduction targets as recommended.
15
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Para 76
Government policy is to encourage work, returning to work and in-work progression as far as possible to help reduce poverty, however multiple reports have raised concern both about the affordability of maintenance payments and distorted the work incentives caused by the current maintenance levels. This poses a risk to work …
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges concerns about maintenance affordability and work incentives, stating it has begun a fundamental review of the child maintenance calculation, including updating research and considering parental incomes to reflect current social trends.
25
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Para 101
It is particularly difficult to understand how fees, intended to incentivise the use of Direct Pay, can be justified in cases where the Department appears to have accepted such arrangements are not appropriate, such as in cases of domestic abuse. The Department should introduce a mechanism to waive Collect and …
Government Response Summary
The government states it will look at the current charging structure and its interaction with proposed changes for victims of domestic abuse, as part of developing secondary legislation for the Child Support Collection (Domestic Abuse) Bill. It does not commit to immediately waiving fees.
31
Conclusion
Acknowledged
In summary: Our inquiry has found a number of issues with the Child Maintenance Service that need to be addressed. Receiving parents continue to report great frustration at ineffective and slow enforcement. Paying parents have described distress and being pushed into poverty by the unaffordability of child maintenance payments. This …
Government Response Summary
The government thanks the Committee for its thorough inquiry into the Child Maintenance Service and welcomes the report, noting its importance in tackling child poverty and stating that detailed responses to recommendations are provided subsequently.