Child Maintenance

As of March 2024, there were estimated to be 3.8 million children living in separated families. A child maintenance arrangement is required for all children under the age of 16 living in separated families. However, only around 59% of families have any form of child maintenance agreement. Where parents cannot create their own private child … Show more

As of March 2024, there were estimated to be 3.8 million children living in separated families. A child maintenance arrangement is required for all children under the age of 16 living in separated families. However, only around 59% of families have any form of child maintenance agreement. Where parents cannot create their own private child maintenance agreement, they can access the Child Maintenance Service (CMS). The CMS is the Government run service which can calculate, facilitate, and if necessary collect, child maintenance payments between parents’. This inquiry seeks to examine the barriers to making child maintenance arrangements through the CMS and why many separated families do not have any form of arrangement. Secondly, we want to explore how arrangements made through the Child Maintenance Service can be more effectively enforced. The report Reforming the Child Maintenance Service was published on 14 October 2025.. The Government response was published on 9 January 2026. The report was debated on 8 June 2026. Show less