Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 12
12
The Department does not know whether all groups of parents find CMS equally accessible or...
Conclusion
The Department does not know whether all groups of parents find CMS equally accessible or whether CMS produces different outcomes for different groups. The Department’s research found that low-income families, those with disabilities, and those with higher levels of parental conflict, appear more likely to have no arrangement in place. For example, in 2021, 39% of separated parents who were either not working or were economically inactive had no child maintenance arrangements in place, compared with 21% of those who were employed or self-employed. Similarly, over a third (34%) of separated parents whose children had special education needs or a disability (SEND) had no arrangements, compared with less than a quarter (23%) of children who did not have SEND. The Department believes that it does not require information on parents’ protected characteristics to run its CMS scheme and has no information about the ethnic background of 25% of receiving parents, or 49% of paying parents. 13 Qq 84, 104 14 C&AG’s Report, para 1.11 15 Q 10; C&AG’s Report, para 1.22; The Department’s published Child Maintenance Service statistics: data to September 2021, section 5 for caseload information. 16 Qq 2, 11 14 Child Maintenance
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
2b. PAC Recommendation: The Department should: • to support this, undertake more inclusive research to understand its customers and users of its service. It should ensure people who do not communicate in English are included in its research and establish why under-represented groups, such as some minority ethnic groups, seem less likely to use the CMS scheme 2.5 The government disagrees with the recommendation. 2.6 Improvements have already been made to the collection of diversity information via the online application process. Customer surveys can be undertaken in languages other than English, and the department will explore how it can improve diversity information via monitoring of customer characteristics and exploiting existing survey and administrative data. 2.7 In regard to recommendation 2b, the department produces annual statistics on separated families including proportions with statutory and non-statutory arrangements. 2.8 Given the increase in demand for the CMS, the department does not see the need for new research at this time. It will undertake further internal analysis if demand stabilises or subsides.