Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to improve training for Child Maintenance Service call handlers on (a) vulnerable people and (b) victims of domestic abuse.

The Department for Work and Pensions and the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) take the support of vulnerable customers, including victims and survivors of domestic abuse, extremely seriously.

All CMS Caseworkers receive comprehensive technical training, including specific modules on identifying and supporting vulnerable customers and victims and survivors of domestic abuse. This Domestic Abuse training is kept up to date through mandatory two year refresher training to ensure colleagues maintain the requisite skills and knowledge.

For the most complex domestic abuse cases, CMS uses a specialist team, which provides tailored support and reduces the need for victims and survivors to repeatedly recount their experiences.

All Caseworkers can access the Every Call Matters Hub, which provides access to supporting products and call standards to support confidence and quality when speaking with customers.

CMS aim to handle calls in a sensitive manner and ensure all customers get the help and support they need to use the service safely. This may include signposting to support organisations or reporting to the police where this may be necessary.

Further work is ongoing to strengthen quality assurance processes, including call listening, to ensure that vulnerable customers and victims and survivors of domestic abuse consistently receive the appropriate level of service. Insight from quality assurance outcomes is used to support ongoing training and learning.