Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason has there been an increase in the number of separated families that do not have a child maintenance agreement in place.

Child Maintenance reforms aim to encourage co-operation and collaborative parenting between separated parents and to make their own family-based arrangements (FBAs) for child maintenance wherever possible. The statutory Child Maintenance Service (CMS) is available for those parents where they feel it is more appropriate for their circumstances.

We need to acknowledge that an arrangement is not appropriate for every separated family, and research shows around half of those parents with no arrangement do not want one.

Since the introduction of the 2012 reforms and the CMS, the number of separated families choosing to make FBAs has increased alongside the number with no arrangement. However, the number of separated families with no arrangement has continued to fall since the financial year ending 2017.