Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 16 June 2020 to Question 57092 on Children: Maintenance, whether the redeployment of staff led to the decision by the Child Maintenance Service to suspend initiating new enforcement action; and what assessment he has made of the effect of that suspension on parents.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
The CMS has made temporary changes to services to ensure we continue to support separated parents as part of our wider efforts to provide financial support through the welfare system.
Taking substantial enforcement action relies on third parties, including Her Majesty’s courts, bailiffs and the banks, which are currently not in a position to support significant enforcement action. We are committed to working with third parties to pursue enforcement action as soon as possible, where necessary.
Those found to be abusing the system at this difficult time can be subjected to the full extent of our enforcement powers.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to child maintenance services, what proportion of payments made to parents with care are currently being made at the assessed level; and what the level of arrears is as a proportion of the monthly amount due.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
The available information regarding payments is available on Gov.uk. up to and including December 2019. Table 9 of the National Tables refers.
We do not have information in relation to the level of arrears as a proportion of the monthly amount due.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the levels of (a) staff and (b) resources allocated to child maintenance payments has changed since the covid-19 lockdown began.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
Child Maintenance Service, as part of Department for Work and Pensions is supporting the effort to deliver essential services during the current coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Some colleagues have been redeployed to support the effort in benefit payments.
Our priority is to maintain the flow of maintenance that is currently being paid, by easing the financial pressure on parents and ensuring that we transfer the payments as quickly as possible to receiving parents. While there has been the redeployment of some Child Maintenance Service colleagues, the majority have remained in their current roles and are working to ensure the flow of payments is maintained.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if the Government will be making an additional payment to those in receipt of carer's allowance of £460 to mirror the Scottish Government's Coronavirus Carer’s Allowance Supplement payment.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
The Scottish Government uses its powers under devolution to pay carers, regardless of their means, extra amounts through the Carer’s Allowance Supplement.
The UK Government has taken a different approach and chosen to focus extra support on carers on the lowest incomes. For example, carers on Universal Credit can receive around an additional £1950 a year through the Carers Element. And they will also benefit from the extra £1040 a year that has been added to the standard allowance in Universal Credit.