Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Child Maintenance Service cases involving cross border maintenance arrangements were (a) opened and (b) successfully enforced in each of the last five years.

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) defines cross-border maintenance arrangements to mean applications where one or more parties live outside the United Kingdom (UK).

In the past five years, CMS has received no applications involving cross-border maintenance.

CMS can only act where the receiving parent, paying parent and any qualifying children are habitually resident in the UK. It has no jurisdiction otherwise. Such cases fall under international arrangements known as Reciprocal Enforcement of Maintenance Orders (REMO).

REMO allows UK courts to register and enforce child maintenance orders in countries that have reciprocal arrangements with the UK. These arrangements allow maintenance claims across borders and enable registration and enforcement of orders internationally. Enforcement depends on cooperation with overseas authorities and varies by jurisdiction, including EU countries.