Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when his Department plans to respond to the correspondence of 19 July 2023, reference JK41078, from the hon. Member for Solihull.

When DWP receive correspondence relating to a complaint from a Member of Parliament, they aim to fully resolve or agree a resolution within 15 working days of receipt. Complex issues may take longer to resolve

The correspondence referenced was received from the MP on 19 July 2023. On 25 July, the complaint resolution manager contacted the customer to discuss their complaint. During the call, the customer asked CMG to audit her child maintenance account to confirm the arrears owed to her are correct. On 25 July, CMG wrote to the MP’s office confirming they would be unable to provide a full response within 15 days as actions were being progressed. On 2 August, CMG started to audit the customer’s account. This is a complex piece of work, and it can take several weeks to complete, depending on the complexity of the case. The MP contacted CMG on 31 August, 19 September and 16 October asking for a full response to be provided. On each occasion, CMG contacted the MP’s office by email, explaining their investigations were ongoing and a full response would be provided once their investigations were concluded. On 18 October, CMG contacted the MP’s office and confirmed a full response to the MP would be provided by Friday 20 October. I can confirm the response was issued to the MP’s office on Thursday 19 October.