Public Accounts Committee (PAC) reports on CMS
The House of Commons Committee of Public Accounts (PAC) focused heavily on whether the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) delivers value for money and whether DWP was actually improving outcomes for children.
The biggest PAC report was in 2022, following the National Audit Office investigation.
Major PAC Report — June 2022
Report:
Committee of Public Accounts
PAC’s headline conclusion
PAC said:
DWP was achieving “no more for children” than the failed Child Support Agency (CSA)
and around:
1.8 million children
were still receiving no support from the non-resident parent.
This was one of the strongest parliamentary criticisms of CMS.
https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5803/cmselect/cmpubacc/255/summary.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com
PAC’s main findings
1. CMS reforms had not improved outcomes
Ten years after reform, outcomes were not clearly better than under CSA.
PAC said DWP had focused too much on reducing government cost rather than improving child outcomes.
https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5803/cmselect/cmpubacc/255/summary.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com
2. Too many children got nothing
Around half of children in separated families still received no maintenance support.
This became central to later reform debates.
https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5803/cmselect/cmpubacc/255/summary.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com
3. Enforcement was too slow
PAC criticised long delays in enforcement and rising arrears.
Parents were waiting too long before deductions, liability orders, and recovery action happened.
https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5803/cmselect/cmpubacc/255/report.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com
4. Fraud + hidden income concerns
PAC criticised DWP for not properly detecting:
- undeclared income
- self-employed under-reporting
- maintenance fraud
It said too much responsibility was pushed onto receiving parents.
https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/149292/html/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
5. Domestic abuse concerns
PAC highlighted risks where survivors were pushed into unsafe payment arrangements, especially under Direct Pay.
This later helped drive legislative reform.
https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5803/cmselect/cmpubacc/255/report.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com
PAC recommendations
PAC told DWP to:
- review why families avoid CMS
- improve fraud detection
- speed up enforcement
- reduce arrears growth
- improve support for abuse survivors
- better link CMS policy to child poverty reduction
Government formally responded in Treasury Minutes. Government response (Treasury Minutes)
https://committees.parliament.uk/work/6434/child-maintenance/publications/?utm_source=chatgpt.com