Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support the Government is providing to victims of abuse who are waiting for missed child maintenance payments.

Where parents have reported domestic abuse, agents are trained to signpost clients to additional sources of support, including the new gov.uk page which highlights support routes in a crisis, as well as advice services. The Child Maintenance Options (CMO) website provides advice and signposting information to a number of specialist domestic abuse support organisations, as well as advice and information on staying safe.

Paying Parents have a regular schedule of payments to make and are still expected to pay child maintenance throughout this period.

If arrears do accrue during this period due to missed payments, the Service will deal with the debt once the current situation stabilises, to ensure that receiving parents do not lose out in the long run. The Service will update calculations as soon as possible and collect any unpaid amounts that may have accrued. Any parent found to have abused the system will find themselves subject to the full extent of our enforcement powers – including prosecution through the courts.