The DWP has this week confirmed details of reforms to the Child Maintenance Service as it faced questions over the much-criticised system
The Department for Work and Pensions has outlined plans to reform the Child Maintenance Service. The DWP has confirmed there are four ways in which the CMS system is being overhauled to make it work better for parents.
A minister has this week detailed four specific changes coming to the CMS. Firstly, the changes are designed to produce more accurate maintenance calculations. Secondly, they are aimed at better identifying cases at risk of non-compliance. Furthermore, thirdly, the DWP minister also outlined how the CMS is being updated to review cases more efficiently, and, fourthly, to take more effective action to ensure compliance.
The issue was brought before the House of Commons after an MP questioned the DWP on what measures are in place to accelerate processes within the Child Maintenance Service, including the resolution of complaints and the scheduling of tribunal hearings.
Lilian Greenwood, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, responded this week, stating: “The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) is delivering a Modernisation Programme to improve customer access, efficiency and transparency. This includes integrated online application services, the My Child Maintenance Case (MCMC) service, which provides customers with online access to case information and payment schedules, and Customer Connect, which enables secure online communication between parents and caseworkers. Telephone and assisted digital support remain available for customers who need additional assistance.
“The programme has also introduced improved digital communications, enhanced data sharing to support faster and more accurate maintenance calculations, and predictive analytics to help identify cases at risk of non compliance, which allows us to review the cases more swiftly and take action to ensure compliance is maintained.
“The CMS complies with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) complaints service standard, to aim to resolve complaints or set a resolution plan within 15 working days. Where a complaint is complex and requires more time, the CMS will inform the complainant within this period of the next steps and when a response can be expected.
“The CMS reviews overall resource supply and takes appropriate steps to ensure that staffing levels meet current demands and regularly reviews complaint data, including insights from the Independent Case Examiner, to identify key themes and trends, which they use to drive improvements to the complaint handling process. Furthermore, lessons learned are regularly presented to operational teams, supporting them to deliver effective interventions at the initial stage of the complaint and thereby improve the overall customer experience.
“The CMS remains focussed on taking proactive steps to improve the customer experience, developing its customer service strategy to focus on improving current and future service throughout the customer journey.. “HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) is a separate government department and is responsible for the listing, scheduling and management of tribunal hearings. While CMS provides information required in relation to appeals, the timing of tribunal hearings is a matter for HMCTS.”
Child maintenance service errors and people not making payments
The child maintenance system is currently facing severe criticism. In August, parents told BBC Panorama that the agency is pushing them to breaking point.
Mothers described struggling to get their former partners to pay up. Fathers told the programme they had experienced anxiety and stress due to administrative errors.
One mother told Panorama she resorted to food banks after the CMS failed to make her ex-partner pay child maintenance, leaving arrears of nearly £10,000. Another said she had been forced to skip meals after her abusive ex-partner stopped paying.
CMS director Simon Hunter told Panorama he believed the service “has worked pretty effectively”. He told the BBC: “Every case has its own set of circumstances and there are always two sides to the case as well so… we do work through that as best as we possibly can,” he said. “Any opportunity for us, for myself, to improve the service, then we will absolutely take that on board. “To parents who have been affected by “administrative mistakes… where we have made life difficult for our customers – I absolutely apologise for that”, he added.
To report a complaint with CMS or make an appeal, visit the gov.uk web page.
