Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to prevent silo working and improve information sharing within the Child Maintenance Service.

The Child Maintenance Service is committed to keeping an open dialogue and providing a cohesive service with other departments and stakeholders. We also continue to take opportunities to improve sharing of information where legislation allows.

Some examples of this are obtaining Real Time Income information from HMRC to inform Maintenance Calculations and ongoing negotiations to share information relating to self-employed parents who have been furloughed as a result of COVID-19

In addition, we have worked closely with HM Passport Office and Border Agency to taken forward the removal of passports to enhance our enforcement powers. The Service is also creating closer working with HMCTS, as Courts Services are being digitised, to deliver a more efficient and cost effective service for our customers.