Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions he has had with the Child Maintenance Service on the methods that it uses to ensure that payments are made.

The Child Maintenance Service introduced collection and enforcement fees to encourage parents to make a collaborative arrangement and incentivise compliance.

If a paying parent fails to pay on time or in full, we aim to take immediate action to re-establish compliance. If necessary we can deduct on-going maintenance and arrears directly from earnings or from solely held bank accounts.

We also have a range of other strong civil enforcement powers including seizing property, removal of driving licences and commitment to prison.