Letter Conveying DWP Response to Public Services Committee Letter Sent For Clarifying Answers (06 March 2026)
- HC No.
- —
- Published
- 19 Mar 2026
- Items
- 0
- Response
- No response document linked
Select Committee · Public Services Committee
Child Maintenance
Status: Closed
Opened: 11 Mar 2025
Closed: 8 Jun 2026
2 reports
Inquiry scope
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.Reports
3rd Report - Reforming the Child Maintenance Service
- HC No.
- —
- Published
- 14 Oct 2025
- Items
- 0
- Response
- Response document linked Read government response ↗
Oral evidence sessions
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| Date | Session and witnesses | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 25 Jun 2025 | Baroness Sherlock OBE · Department of Work and Pensions, Chris Smith · Department of Work and Pensions, Duncan Gilchrist · Department for Work and Pensions, Simon Hunter · Department for Work and Pensions | View ↗ |
| 7 May 2025 |
Oral Evidence
Michelle Counley · NACSA,
Naomi Wiseman · Family Law Bar Association
|
View ↗ |
| 2 Apr 2025 |
Oral Evidence
Abby Jitendra · Joseph Rowntree Foundation,
Dr Laura Robertson · Poverty Alliance
|
View ↗ |
| 26 Mar 2025 |
Oral Evidence
Dave Hawkey · Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR),
Sam Morfey · Both Parents Matter,
Sarah Lambert · Gingerbread, the charity for single parent families
|
View ↗ |
| 19 Mar 2025 |
Oral Evidence
Chris Smith · Department of Work and Pensions,
Duncan Gilchrist · Department for Work and Pensions,
Elaine Squires · Department for Work and Pensions,
Simon Hunter · Department for Work and Pensions
|
View ↗ |
Who gave evidence
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| Witness | Organisation | Sessions |
|---|---|---|
| Chris Smith · Deputy Director of Child Maintenance, Operations | Department of Work and Pensions | 2 |
| Duncan Gilchrist · Deputy Director of Child Maintenance, Policy | Department for Work and Pensions | 2 |
| Simon Hunter · Director of the Child Maintenance Service | Department for Work and Pensions | 2 |
| Abby Jitendra · Principal Policy Adviser | Joseph Rowntree Foundation | 1 |
| Baroness Sherlock OBE · Minister of State | Department of Work and Pensions | 1 |
| Dave Hawkey · Senior Research Fellow | Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) | 1 |
| Dr Laura Robertson · Research Manager | Poverty Alliance | 1 |
| Elaine Squires · Deputy Director for Income, Family and Disadvantage Analysis | Department for Work and Pensions | 1 |
| Michelle Counley · Senior Consultant | NACSA | 1 |
| Naomi Wiseman · Barrister | Family Law Bar Association | 1 |
| Sam Morfey · CEO | Both Parents Matter | 1 |
| Sarah Lambert · Head of Policy and Campaigns | Gingerbread, the charity for single parent families | 1 |
Correspondence
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Meetings & visits
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| Date | Type | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 23 Jul 2025 | Formal meeting (private meeting) | — · Room 4A, Palace of Westminster | |
| 16 Jul 2025 | Formal meeting (private meeting) | — · Room 2A, Palace of Westminster | |
| 11 Jun 2025 | Formal meeting (private meeting) | — · Room 2A, Palace of Westminster | |
| 4 Jun 2025 | Formal meeting (private meeting) | — · Room 1, Palace of Westminster | |
| 21 May 2025 | Formal meeting (private meeting) | — · Room 2A, Palace of Westminster | |
| 14 May 2025 | Formal meeting (private meeting) | Formal Meeting (Private Meeting) · Room 1-05, Millbank House |