To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Child Maintenance Service in securing funds from paying parents.

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) has a range of strong enforcement powers that can be used against those who consistently refuse to meet their obligations to provide financial support to their children. These include forcing the sale of property, disqualification from driving or commitment to prison.   We are committed to making the most effective use of these strong enforcement powers and have made a number of improvements to our enforcement processes to make it quicker and more efficient.

Since December 2022, there has been an increase from 65% to 68%, in those paying something towards their maintenance through Collect & Pay.

We have recently concluded a public consultation on proposals to introduce administrative liability orders, which will significantly speed up the process and get money to children quicker, reducing the time it takes to secure an order from 22 weeks to as low as 6 weeks. The Government published their response on 12 February 2024 and will bring forward legislation as soon as possible.