Question follow-through · 56507

Children: Maintenance

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to make paternity DNA testing mandatory in all disputed child maintenance cases before deductions begin.

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
2 Jun 2025
Target answer date
4 Jun 2025
Answer
10 Jun 2025 · 8 calendar days after tabling

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

Recorded timeline

  1. 2 Jun 2025

    Question tabled

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to make paternity DNA testing mandatory in all disputed child maintenance cases before deductions begin.

  2. 4 Jun 2025

    Target answer date

    Date supplied by the official written-questions record.

  3. 10 Jun 2025

    Answer published

    Parentage disputes can be raised at any point in the life cycle of a child maintenance case.If parentage is disputed before the initial maintenance calculation is made, the CMS will need to decide whether an assumption of parentage can be made. The circum...

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.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

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29 Aug 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the need to clarify trustee fiduciary duties regarding inflation protection.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Unemployment: Young People

29 Aug 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the potential reasons for the increase in the number of unemployed 16 to 24 year olds in the last year.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Employment: Young People

29 Aug 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment has she made of the (a) quality and (b) security of employment among young people aged 16 to 24.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Employment Schemes: Young People

29 Aug 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to provide employment support to young people not in education, employment or training.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Vacancies: Applications

29 Aug 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to reduce the time taken for job seekers to receive appointments for improving CVs.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Employment Schemes: Young People

8 Sept 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of employment support programmes in reducing youth unemployment.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Unemployment: Advisory Services

11 Sept 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure that jobseekers receive prompt CV support.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Employment Schemes: Young People

11 Sept 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to monitor the effectiveness of employment support programmes for young people.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Graduates: Employment

15 Sept 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the accessibility of graduate employment opportunities in each (a) region and b) subject.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Pensioners: Poverty

10 Oct 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that pensioners who retired before April 2016 do not fall into poverty.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Pensioners: Poverty

10 Oct 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what comparative assessment his Department has made of rates of pensioner poverty between people receiving the (a) pre-2016 and (b) new state pension.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

State Retirement Pensions: Uprating

10 Oct 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to review the uprating mechanism for the pre-2016 State Pension.