Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of (a) bringing forward legislative proposals to charge interest on outstanding debts of child maintenance of more than a year's standing and (b) ensuring that outstanding debts are paid by his Department to the parent with care.

Where a paying parent fails to pay on time or in full, the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) aims to take immediate action to recover the debt and re-establish compliance.

If the paying parent is employed, the CMS will request that ongoing child maintenance payments be deducted directly from their salary. The CMS also has a range of other enforcement powers that can be used against those who consistently refuse to meet their obligations to provide financial support to their children, including deducting maintenance from a wide range of bank accounts. The CMS can also use further measures, including using Enforcement Agents to take control of goods, disqualification from driving or commitment to prison, and disqualification from holding or obtaining a UK passport.

Interest is not charged to outstanding debts. However, the CMS imposes enforcement fees to incentivise paying parents to meet their obligations voluntarily. If a parent fails to pay through a voluntary arrangement (like Direct Pay), the CMS may switch the case to Collect and Pay, which includes a 20% surcharge for the paying parent.

The CMS is committed to ensuring all separated parents within the statutory scheme support their children financially and will continue to pursue unpaid child maintenance debt, including deducting payments from pensions income.