Child Maintenance Service

(asked on 19th April 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of improving the clarity of information in the Child Maintenance Service's written communications to service users.


Answered by
Guy Opperman Portrait
Guy Opperman
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
This question was answered on 22nd April 2021

The Department and the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) regularly review the Services offered to customers, including written communications. In 2018 we identified the top ten letters sent by CMS and worked with partners to simplify them; this included, removal of duplication and simplifying the language where appropriate, whilst moving key messages up front so they could be easily identified and understood by customers.

We have also implemented several improvement suggestions from Independent Case Examiners, including clarification of the complaints process and communication with employers

We have reduced the volume of letters being sent to customers, focusing instead on fewer, clearly worded letters that can be used across the board.

In addition, the DWP External Communications team continually review letters to ensure they meet the agreed communications standard which comprises: using plain English, no jargon, no Latin words and no contractions. Whilst making sure the message is clear, helpful, respectful and positive.

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