Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to improve (a) enforcement and (b) arrears recovery in child maintenance cases where the paying parent resides abroad.

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) can only be used where the receiving parent, paying parent and any qualifying children are all habitually resident in the United Kingdom (UK). The CMS does not have jurisdiction where this does not apply.

The process for handling cases where the paying parent may be non-resident in the UK is managed according to a range of international treaties under the umbrella term REMO (Reciprocal Enforcement of Maintenance Orders).

The UK has arrangements with a number of other countries and territories that allow a parent with care to claim maintenance from a non-resident parent resident in one of those countries. REMO can be used to register and enforce child maintenance orders internationally, or for example, when the paying parent is habitually resident in the UK but has assets and/or income in another country. If the paying parent has moved to an EU country, The CMS may be able to enforce collection of outstanding child maintenance arrears.

The CMS works closely with the Ministry of Justice, with whom the process is managed by, and the CMS's caseworkers are trained to signpost parents to that department for advice.