Letter to the Pensions Secretary: Ongoing Failures within the Child Maintenance Service

Please see the full letter below.

Following Single Parents Day, MPs have raised serious concerns about ongoing failures within the Child Maintenance Service (CMS), warning that delays to reform are continuing to cause financial hardship and emotional distress for families across the country.

Despite previous commitments from the Government to improve the system, constituents are still reporting significant issues, including incorrect payment calculations, weak enforcement against non-paying parents, poor customer service, and long delays in case handling. Concerns have also been raised about high fees within the Collect and Pay system, which can disproportionately impact vulnerable families, including survivors of domestic abuse.

MPs are calling on the Government to act urgently by setting clear timelines for implementing long-promised reforms, strengthening enforcement powers, improving data-sharing across departments, and ensuring better protections for those affected by domestic abuse. They have also highlighted the need to address growing delays in both case processing and responses to MPs’ enquiries.

Without swift action, there are concerns that the system will continue to fail the families it is designed to support.

Please see the full letter below.