Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans his Department has to review how the Child Maintenance Service processes cases involving domestic abuse allegations.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are committed to ensuring that victims and survivors of domestic abuse get the help and support they need to use the CMS safely.
CMS domestic abuse training has been reviewed to ensure it reflects the Home Office’s updated statutory guidance on coercive and controlling behaviour, published in April 2023, to ensure CMS staff are equipped to recognise this form of domestic abuse and signpost parents appropriately.
The CMS has access to a list of resources which helps caseworkers provide signposting to supporting organisations, and a Domestic Abuse plan which includes clear steps to follow in order to support customers who are experiencing abuse. The list of resources and Domestic Abuse Plan is regularly reviewed.
As well as the domestic abuse plan, the CMS responds to cases involving domestic abuse in several ways, including by acting as an intermediary in Direct Pay cases, and providing advice on how to set up bank accounts with a centralised sort code to limit the risk of a parent’s location being traced.
The Department has introduced a domestic abuse specialist caseworker team which provides a discrete and tactful service. The CMS determines which cases are referred to the team and offer, if required, a ‘named caseworker’ to prevent customers having to retell their story at each interaction.
The CMS reviews its domestic abuse training regularly to ensure caseworkers are equipped to support parents in vulnerable situations and the Department will continue to meet stakeholders regularly to maintain an open dialogue on how to improve the service.
We believe planned reforms to the direct pay service, where all payments are collected and transferred on behalf of parents will allow the CMS to tackle non-compliance faster, and better support victims and survivors of domestic abuse who use the CMS, reducing contact with the other parent and reducing the paying parent’s ability to financially control the receiving parent by paying too little or too late, as is currently the case on Direct Pay.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many staff network events took place in her Department in May 2025; and what the names of those events were.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information you have requested is not held centrally, as staff networks are collaborative volunteer networks, organised by staff themselves rather than the department. This would include site-specific networks. Gathering this data would incur disproportionate costs.
While some networks are organised centrally, there is no requirement for network groups across the organisation to be formally recorded or registered. Networks can be based on location, team structure and development as well as areas of diversity, health and inclusion. Some centrally organised networks may hold information but this does not provide a full picture of all network events during May 2025.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has updated guidance on the use of single-sex facilities in response to the Supreme Court judgement in the case of For Women Scotland v The Scottish Ministers of 16 April 2025.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
We will review and update policy wherever necessary to ensure it complies with the latest legal requirements and aim to ensure appropriate facilities are available for all staff.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she plans to increase the powers of the Child Maintenance Service to obtain accurate data on self-employed parents.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
For self-employed paying parents, the gross income used in a maintenance calculation is provided by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). People who are self-employed are required to keep accurate records of their business income and expenses for tax purposes. HMRC can charge penalties for inaccurate reporting where it results in tax being unpaid.
Cases involving complex income can be investigated by the Financial Investigation Unit (FIU). This is a specialist team which can request information from financial institutions to check the accuracy of information the CMS is given. The FIU uses its extensive investigative powers to ensure that families receive child maintenance appropriately and in accordance with the paying parent’s whole income.
If necessary, criminal charges relating to information offences linked to the calculation, will be brought against those who persistently and deliberately evade their responsibility to provide financially for their children.
The department is conducting a programme of work to review the child maintenance calculation to make sure it is fit for purpose and reflects today’s social trends. The review is wide-ranging and includes consideration of a range of issues including bringing the treatment of unearned income and assets within the calculation automatically. Proposed changes which emerge from the review will be subject to consultation.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking in response to concerns of former employees of Atomic Energy Agency Technology regarding a redress of their pension.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) published a report on the AEAT Pension case in June 2023, which made several recommendations for the government. This work was halted due to the general election and the new government will now consider it.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure that the Child Maintenance Service enforces parent (a) compliance and (b) payment.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Where a paying parent fails to pay on time or in full, the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) aims to take immediate action to recover the debt and re-establish compliance. If this is unsuccessful and the paying parent is employed, the CMS will use a Deductions from Earnings Order (DEO) to take payment directly from their wages.
The CMS also 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.
The Department plans to enhance effectiveness in collecting arrears payments by delivering changes via regulations to streamline the enforcement process. This will remove the requirement to obtain a court issued liability order, and instead allow the Secretary of State to issue an administrative liability order. Introducing this simpler administrative process will enable the CMS to take faster action against those paying parents who actively avoid their responsibilities.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many pensioners in Tatton constituency will lose entitlement to winter fuel payments as a result of the proposed changes.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
To be comparable with the Winter Fuel Payment statistics, the Pension Credit data that has been used is based on the 2010 Westminster Parliamentary constituencies, not 2024.
It is estimated that around 18,200 pensioners in Tatton constituency (2010 boundary) will be impacted by the decision to amend the eligibility criteria for the Winter Fuel Payment. This is based on February 2024 Pension Credit statistics which are available via DWP Stat-xplore and the Winter Fuel Payment statistics for Winter 2022 to 2023 which are available via GOV.UK.
This estimation is calculated by subtracting the number of people claiming Pension Credit in Tatton constituency from the number of Winter Fuel Payment recipients in Tatton constituency. This is essentially the number of Winter Fuel Payment recipients who are not claiming Pension Credit pre-policy change, as an estimate of those who will no longer receive the Winter Fuel Payment.
Please note that the above figures do not take into account any potential increase in Pension Credit take-up that we might see as a result of the Government’s Pension Credit Awareness Campaign. We do not have data on those additional Pension Credit claims by Parliamentary constituencies or Local Authorities.
The published Pension Credit figures refer to households rather than individuals, so the number of individuals receiving Pension Credit will be higher (i.e. taking account of households where it is a couple claiming Pension Credit).
In addition, while Pension Credit claimants constitute the majority of those that will be eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment, pensioners who claim other qualifying means-tested benefits will also be eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment. It is not, however, possible to include those on other qualifying means-tested benefits in these figures.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of changing the eligibility criteria for the winter fuel payment on the health of pensioners.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
This Government is committed to pensioners – everyone in our society, no matter their working history or savings deserves a comfortable and dignified retirement.
Given the substantial pressures faced by the public finances this year and next, the government has had to make hard choices to bring the public finances back under control.
Winter Fuel Payments will continue to be paid to pensioner households with someone receiving Pension Credit or certain other income-related benefits. They will continue to be worth £200 for eligible households, or £300 for eligible households with someone aged over 80.
The Government is committed to a preventative approach to public health. Keeping people warm and well at home and improving the quality of new and existing homes will play an essential part in enabling people to live longer, healthier lives and reducing pressures on the NHS.
Our continued commitment to the triple lock means the full new state pension is forecast to increase by a further £1,700 over the course of this parliament.
We are also providing support through our Warm Homes Plan which pensioners will benefit from. This will support investment in insulation and low carbon heating – upgrading millions of homes over this Parliament. Our long-term plan will protect billpayers permanently, reduce fuel poverty, and get the UK back on track to meet our climate goals.
In making a decision on Winter Fuel Payment eligibility, the government had regard to the equality analysis in line with the Public Sector Equality Duty requirements.