Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate she has made of the average time it takes for the Child Maintenance Service to respond to reports that an ex-partner of a claimant has stopped paying child maintenance.

Where payments have been missed we have asked parents to report the changes via the self-service portal. Missed payments will continue to accrue as arrears and, over time, we will ensure that everyone pays or receives the right amount of child maintenance.

No one will get away with giving false information and those abusing the system will find themselves subject to the full extent of our enforcement powers.