😞 Child Maintenance Service

• Child Maintenance Service (CMS) Issues Highlighted: Ian Sollom, MP for St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire, raised concerns about the CMS’s systemic failures, inadequate enforcement, and poor support for families, particularly those escaping domestic abuse.

• Personal Stories Shared: Sollom shared a constituent’s story who struggled for nearly two decades with the CMS to secure child maintenance from an abusive ex-partner, highlighting the bureaucracy’s impersonal and ineffective nature.

• Call for Enforcement and Better Assessments: MPs suggested the need for stronger enforcement powers, better income assessments of non-resident parents, and improved collaboration between HMRC and DWP.

• Northern Ireland’s CMS Challenges: Jim Shannon, MP for Strangford, noted similar CMS issues in Northern Ireland, with statistics showing low compliance rates among parents required to pay maintenance.

• Impact on Child Poverty: Josh Fenton-Glynn, MP for Calder Valley, cited a report by Gingerbread showing that child maintenance payments significantly reduce child poverty.

• Statistics and Government’s Response: Government data revealed that 31% of paying parents made no maintenance payments, and 12% paid less than 60% of their obligations. The Minister, Andrew Western, responded to these points, emphasizing the government’s commitment to reducing child poverty.

• Government Initiatives to Combat Child Poverty: The government outlined plans such as tripling investment in breakfast clubs, rolling out free breakfast clubs in primary schools, creating new nurseries, and increasing the national living wage to help combat child poverty.

• Consultation on CMS Reforms: Western mentioned that the recent consultation on direct pay and service improvements was ongoing, with a response due soon, aiming to enhance the CMS’s effectiveness.

• Domestic Abuse and CMS: Specific measures are being implemented to support victims of domestic abuse using the CMS, including assigning named caseworkers to prevent repeated retelling of traumatic experiences.

• Future CMS Reforms: Plans to review the CMS’s calculation method and enforcement processes were discussed, alongside removing the £20 application fee to improve access to the service.

• Customer Experience Improvements: The DWP is modernizing CMS services, enhancing digital options while ensuring non-digital services remain available for all customers.

• Ongoing Commitment to CMS Improvements: The government acknowledged the need for continued reform of the CMS to better support families and reduce child poverty.

The disagreement level in this parliamentary session is very low, meriting a rating of 1 out of 5. The key indicator of this low disagreement level is the Minister’s cooperative and responsive stance throughout the debate, which aligns well with the points raised by other MPs. Here are the details supporting this rating:

1. Alignment on Key Issues: Ian Sollom raises several critical issues regarding the failures of the Child Maintenance Service (CMS). Instead of opposition, the Minister, Andrew Western, acknowledges these issues and expresses the Government’s commitment to addressing them, stating, “We are aware of the challenges that the CMS faces and recognise that there is scope for improvement.”

2. Constructive Engagement: The Minister actively engages with the concerns presented, promising actions and improvements. For instance, when Jim Shannon mentions the frustration of dealing with different caseworkers, the Minister responds positively, indicating that a specific operational team has been rolled out to provide tailored support, including assigning named caseworkers, “They can and do assign a named caseworker to prevent customers having to re-tell their story at each interaction.”

3. Responses to Interventions: The session includes several interventions from various MPs, and in each case, the Minister responds constructively. For example, when Tom Gordon asks about the two-child benefit cap, the Minister does not outright reject the idea but refers to it as part of their broad review, “We rule nothing in and nothing out.”

4. Specific Promises for Action: The Minister addresses multiple aspects of reform mentioned by MPs, such as the enforcement powers, calculation reforms, and improvements in customer service. He provides specific details and progress updates, showing a commitment to action rather than disagreement. For instance, he discusses the removal of the £20 application fee and enhancements to enforcement processes.

5. Absence of Confrontation: There is a general absence of confrontational language or significant disagreement throughout the session. MPs largely express appreciation for the debate and the Minister’s openness to reform, rather than presenting opposing views.

Examples of this constructive engagement include: - When Sarah Russell calls for more enforcement and better joined-up working between departments, Ian Sollom agrees and the Minister later details enforcement improvements. - Josh Fenton-Glynn emphasizes the need to address post-separation abuse linked with CMS involvement, and the Minister acknowledges this concern, noting the consultation’s intended focus on this issue.

Overall, the session is characterized by a collaborative approach to discussing major reforms, with little to no visible disagreement among participants, thus justifying a rating of 1 for disagreement displayed.