Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 8 February 2018 to Question 126646, what steps she is taking to ensure that staff at Child Maintenance Options and not just staff at the Child Maintenance Service are trained to give specific information about Variations in terms of the Maintenance Calculation Regulations 2012.

The role of Child Maintenance Options is not to provide advice, but to provide impartial information to support parents in making the most appropriate maintenance arrangement for their circumstances.

Child Maintenance Options agents complete a comprehensive training programme and have supporting guidance available to ensure they provide complete and unbiased information to customers, including information about how a child maintenance calculation is worked out and what information is taken into account.

Child Maintenance Options agents are trained to identify circumstances where a variation to the child maintenance calculation may be considered. If any such circumstances are discussed during the Child Maintenance Options conversation, the agent will tell the customer to raise it with the Child Maintenance Service when they make their application and to ask for a variation to be considered.

The nature of the variation is specific to each individual customer, and representations are required from both parties (Receiving and Paying Parent). Therefore, specific details are best dealt with at the point where the variation is applied.

Child Maintenance Service caseworkers who take applications to the statutory scheme are trained on the detail of the variations system so, in cases where a declaration is made the variation can be applied appropriately.

As part of the Compliance and Arrears Strategy the department is reviewing its approach to variations. Appropriate additional training and guidance for Child Maintenance Options and Child Maintenance Service staff, and additional material to raise customer awareness of the variation process, will be considered as a result.