Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) passports and (b) driving licenses have been removed from people for non-payment of child maintenance; and how many people received a custodial sentence for non-payment of child maintenance in the last year for which figures are available.

The Child Support regulations recently laid in Parliament include changes to enable the Child Maintenance Service to disqualify a paying parent with child maintenance arrears from holding or obtaining a UK passport. These changes are expected to come into force in November subject to them gaining Parliamentary approval.

The number of driving licences removed and the number of custodial sentences as a result of non-payment of child maintenance for the period of June 2017 to June 2018 is as follows:

• Immediate disqualification from driving 7
• Immediate imprisonment 4