Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of Child Maintenance Service cases lapse each year due to failure to trace the paying parent.

The statistical information specific to the scenario you have given is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost to the Department.

The Government is committed to ensuring parents meet their financial obligations to their children.

Where a paying parent fails to take responsibility for paying their child maintenance and cannot be traced, the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) will take immediate action and do everything within its powers to trace the paying parent.

The CMS have a range of enforcement powers that can be used against those parents who consistently refuse to meet or evade their obligations to provide financial support to their children. We are committed to using these powers fairly and in the best interests of children and separated families to ensure compliance.