Child Maintenance Service - My view

It’s only fair that wherever a child lives, both parents should support their upbringing. In an ideal world, families could sort this out themselves. But when that isn’t possible, the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) is supposed to step in, make fair decisions, and ensure no child is pushed into poverty.

Sometimes contact isn’t safe, or possible, and that’s not for anyone else to judge. What matters is that when one parent is doing the day‑to‑day caring, the system should back them up. And right now, too often, it doesn’t.

Every week mothers and fathers contact me at breaking point. Let down by ex‑partners who have walked away from their responsibilities, they are then failed by a system designed to support them. Instead, many experience delays, excuses and loopholes deployed by parents avoiding payment.

Carers tell me about absent parents hiding income or declaring suspiciously low profits while enjoying luxury holidays. Others use the system to continue controlling their ex-partner. Meanwhile, the parent caring for the child is left choosing between heating and school shoes.

The CMS was introduced to replace a court-based system which was expensive and slow. It should provide an accessible alternative and a formal route where contact isn’t safe. But in practice, the way payments are calculated is often manipulated.

When parents move between jobs, payments take months to adjust. For the self‑employed, CMS relies on HMRC profits, not actual income. If a child lived with that parent, they would be paying for their needs —regardless of the success of the business. Yet the CMS accepts these figures at face value, even when a parent’s lifestyle clearly tells a different story.

In the most troubling cases, non-resident parents receive income through relatives, claim benefits to lower their payments, or use legal aid to fight custody battles—while contributing little or nothing towards caring for their children.

Where domestic abuse has taken place, the CMS can become another tool for harm. Abusers delay, evade, or use the system to force ongoing contact. Some parents face false allegations and retaliatory claims, and when money is unpaid, enforcement is often inconsistent or slow.

Last year, the House of Lords concluded that the CMS is not fit for purpose. Charities report children going without essentials and family life under strain. The system is causing real harm and is a factor in continued child poverty.

I’ve raised these issues many times in Parliament, sharing stories from local families who deserve better. Reforming the CMS is one of my priorities this year, and I’m working cross‑party to push for change. Minister Jess Phillips has agreed to meet me, and I’m committed to securing improvements.

The Government is making progress on wider child wellbeing issues through measures like expanding Free School Meals and introducing funded childcare. But they must also act for children caught in the crossfire of relationship breakdown—and replace the CMS with a system fit for the 21st century.

If you need help with a CMS issue—or anything else—please get in touch.