Work and Pensions Committee investigations on CMS
Main message
Major Report — April 2023
Report:
Children in Poverty: Child Maintenance Service
Full report / Government response
https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5803/cmselect/cmworpen/1675/report.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com
WPC headline conclusion
MPs said:
a stronger CMS would directly reduce child poverty
and current failures were pushing many single-parent families deeper into hardship.
https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5803/cmselect/cmworpen/1675/report.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com
Main findings
1. Child maintenance = anti-poverty policy
Committee treated CMS not just as admin—but as a major anti-poverty system.
This was a major shift in parliamentary framing.
https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5803/cmselect/cmworpen/1675/report.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com
2. Direct Pay often failed
Many “Direct Pay” cases were not genuinely working.
Parents often reported non-payment without quick CMS intervention.
This later drove Government’s 2025 decision to remove Direct Pay.
https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5803/cmselect/cmworpen/1675/report.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com
3. Domestic abuse protections were too weak
The Committee strongly criticised cases where abuse survivors had to maintain unsafe contact.
This supported the later Domestic Abuse Act reforms.
https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5803/cmselect/cmworpen/1675/report.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com
4. Self-employed loopholes
The Committee focused heavily on parents hiding income through:
- limited companies
- dividends
- property income
- complex self-employment structures
https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5803/cmselect/cmworpen/1675/report.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com
5. Application fee criticism
The £20 application fee was criticised as a barrier for vulnerable parents.
This fee was later removed in 2024.
https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5803/cmselect/cmworpen/1675/report.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com
2025 new inquiry
In July 2025 MPs opened a fresh CMS inquiry asking:
- is CMS too adversarial?
- does it support abuse victims enough?
- how should family-based agreements work better?
- should the system be redesigned more fundamentally?
https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/164/work-and-pensions-committee/news/208804/mps-open-child-maintenance-service-inquiry/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
This is still shaping future reform.