On Monday 3rd of February in the House of Lords, the Bishop of Gloucester, Rachel Treweek, submitted question: “Maintenance: Children”.

The Government response came from Baroness Sherlock, The Minister of State, Department for Work and Pensions.

Previously, on Monday 27th of January, the Bishop asked two similar questions and Maeve Sherlock responded to both.

The most recent question which is here that was on 3rd February and currently there are no comments:

The Bishop of Gloucester: To ask His Majesty’s Government what (1) practical, and (2) mental health, support is offered to parents struggling to pay child maintenance.

Baroness Sherlock: The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) is committed to ensuring that it delivers a safe service that is sensitive to the needs of all the parents that use it. We recognise that some parents may face difficult circumstances, particularly at a time of separation.

The CMS is well prepared to respond quickly and effectively if it becomes aware that the safety of any of its customers are at risk, and caseworkers receive extensive training and follow a well-managed process with clear steps to support vulnerable clients.

Caseworkers have access to several tools and procedures to help support customers when they advise they cannot afford to pay child maintenance or are struggling with the cost of living in general and are in financial or emotional crisis.

This includes the National District Provision Toolkit and Affordability Hub which provides invaluable information to allow caseworkers to signpost to national and local support organisations for debt help and mental health assistance across the UK.

Additionally, Caseworkers can refer particularly vulnerable customers to the DWP Advanced Customer Support team for debt advice, access to benefits and mental health support or refer to the Money Advisory Service, Money Helper, an arm’s length body of DWP which provides confidential debt advice.  They also have access to the Benefit Calculator tool to check if the paying parent is entitled to any benefits.

In addition, Caseworkers can check income information is correct through Real Time Information (RTI) from His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs. Once this has been confirmed with the paying parent, they can discuss making an interim arrangement to clear the arrears.

The government has committed to reviewing the calculation to make sure it is fit for purpose and reflects today’s trends. Any changes will be subject to extensive consultation and legislation brought forward where necessary for approval.

The first question the 27th of January was this one

The Bishop of Gloucester: To ask His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure survivors of domestic abuse are exempt from fees associated with child maintenance.

Baroness Sherlock: The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) removed the £20 application fee in February 2024. This has removed any requirement to report domestic abuse. It has also removed one of the affordability barriers for parents who wish to apply to the scheme.

A consultation on proposed reforms to the CMS was published by the previous Government on 8 May 2024. This included:

• removing Direct Pay and managing all CMS cases in one service to allow the CMS to tackle non-compliance faster,
• exploring views on collection fees and the impact of proposals to reduce, but maintain, fees and
• exploring how victims and survivors of domestic abuse can be better supported. This follows the Child Support Collection (Domestic Abuse) Act receiving royal assent in July 2023.

The consultation was extended by this Government at the end of July and ran until 30 September 2024. We are currently analysing the responses we have received, and the Government will publish a response in due course.

The second one on in that week is here

The Bishop of Gloucester: To ask His Majesty’s Government when they intend to publish the review of calculations of child maintenance.

Baroness Sherlock: The Department has been conducting a review of the child maintenance calculation to make sure it is fit for purpose and reflects today’s social trends. This process is ongoing and no date for announcing the outcome has yet been set. When it is, any changes will be subject to extensive consultation and legislation brought forward where necessary for approval.