Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to prevent parents from accruing arrears under the Child Maintenance Service's collect and pay system.

The Child Maintenance Service has wide ranging powers to enforce the collection of both ongoing child maintenance liability and also arrears. We recently consulted on a new Compliance and Arrears Strategy with the aim of increasing these powers. The Government’s response to this consultation will be published in due course.