Question follow-through · 51645

Children: Maintenance

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure the Child Maintenance Service adheres to its debt steer principles.

answeredDepartment for Work and Pensions

About this written question

A written question asks a government minister for information in writing. Parliament publishes the question and any answer.

Answering body
Department for Work and Pensions
Tabled
12 May 2025
Target answer date
15 May 2025
Answer
15 May 2025 · 3 calendar days after tabling

Elapsed calendar days describe the record timeline, not whether Parliament considers an answer on time.

Recorded timeline

  1. 12 May 2025

    Question tabled

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure the Child Maintenance Service adheres to its debt steer principles.

  2. 15 May 2025

    Target answer date

    Date supplied by the official written-questions record.

  3. 15 May 2025

    Answer published

    The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) operates on the principle that both parents have financial responsibility for their child, including their food and clothing, as well as contributing towards the associated costs of running the home that the child lives...

Open official record

Official data retrieved 28 Sept 2026.

Later records

Possible follow-up questions

Strong links require the same MP, department and exact heading. Other same-department questions are shown as unreviewed candidates, not as confirmed follow-ups. No debate link is asserted unless a stable source relationship exists.

Strong linkSame MP, department and exact heading

Children: Maintenance

16 Jul 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of HMRC confidentiality rules on the ability of the Child Maintenance Service to (a) suspend and (b) revise liability, where possible fraudulent chil

Strong linkSame MP, department and exact heading

Children: Maintenance

13 Oct 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the Child Maintenance Service adheres to its debt steer principle that arrears should be repaid within a maximum of two years.

Strong linkSame MP, department and exact heading

Children: Maintenance

13 Oct 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what processes the Child Maintenance Service has in place to verify claims of financial hardship made by paying parents when arrears repayment schedules are extended beyond the two-year debt steer princ

Strong linkSame MP, department and exact heading

Children: Maintenance

13 Oct 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps are taken by the Child Maintenance Service to assess the impact on the welfare of children when arrears repayment schedules are extended beyond the two-year debt steer principle.

Strong linkSame MP, department and exact heading

Children: Maintenance

13 Oct 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the child maintenance service provides (a) oversight and (b) review mechanisms to help ensure (i) consistency and (ii) accountability in the application of caseworker discretion to arrears repay

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Maternity Allowance: Universal Credit

7 Jan 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of treating Maternity Allowance as unearned income for the purposes of Universal Credit on working mothers who are not eligible for Statut

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Maternity Allowance: Coastal Areas and Rural Areas

7 Jan 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of his Departments policies relating to Maternity Allowance on women in rural and coastal labour markets in the context of the prevalence of sea

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Social Security and Child Support Tribunal: Disclosure of Information

27 Jan 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what safeguards are in place to ensure that parties appearing before the Social Security and Child Support Tribunal are informed of any material change in the nature of allegations made against them dur

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Social Security Benefits: Australia

5 Mar 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the termination of the UK–Australia social security agreement in 2001 on UK citizens who return from Australia after long periods of work there; an

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Child Maintenance Service: Standards

15 May 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of enquiries from MPs to the Child Maintenance Service were responded to within 15 working days in a). 2024, b). 2025 and c). 2026 to date.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Motability: Coastal Areas and Rural Areas

9 Jul 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has had discussions with Motability Operations on whether the additional mileage support criteria for the Motability Scheme adequately supports the travel requirements of disabled