Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reasons the amount of child maintenance debt collected fell by 88 per cent between May 2010 and 2014-15.

The Child Maintenance Group does not recognise the quoted 88% reduction in debt collected. For the period specified, there has been a slight decrease under the CSA as outlined by the numbers below however they do not represent such a significant drop and in actuality the amount collected against arrears has increased. Statistics on the maintenance collected under the CSA scheme are published in table 14 of the Child Support Agency quarterly summary of statistics, available online at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/child-support-agency-quarterly-summary-of-statistics-june-2017

Maintenance Collected under CSA

In addition to this, £5.8m of maintenance was collected under CMS through the Collect and Pay service in the quarter to March 2015. Statistics on the maintenance collected under the CMS are published in table 9 of the 2012 statutory child maintenance quarterly publication, available online at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/2012-statutory-child-maintenance-scheme-aug-2013-to-jun-2017-experimental