DWP confirms changes to CMS enforcement sanctions

The Department for Work and Pensions confirmed on Monday 12 February 2024 that the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) will be able to instruct bailiffs, confiscate passports or driving licences, or impose prison sentences directly, rather than applying to the courts first¹. The change applies to cases where non-resident parents persistently refuse to pay the maintenance they owe, and non-resident parents will have options to appeal¹.

The CMS already holds these powers but must apply to the courts to use them; the confirmed change means the sanctions can be imposed directly¹. The change follows a new law brought forward by backbench MP Siobhan Baillie last year¹.

The announcement also confirmed that the £20 CMS application fee will be scrapped for all applicants from 26 February¹.

Gingerbread, which campaigns on single parent issues, said the changes were welcome but did not address delays in identifying non-payment or in using the CMS's existing powers, which include deducting money directly from salaries or bank accounts without going to court¹. It said a lack of enforcement means over half a billion pounds is owed to children¹. It also said unearned income, such as income from rental properties, is not properly accounted for in calculations, and that the Government had previously agreed this was an issue and committed to addressing it but has since gone silent¹.

Gingerbread said it would like the Government to go further and examine charges for the Collect and Pay service, used for non-resident parents with a history of non-payment, which include a deduction from the maintenance payment to the Government before it reaches the parent with care¹. It said it is starting new research into the CMS and will publish a report later this year¹.

Why it matters for households

Parents with care who are owed maintenance are affected by how quickly the CMS acts against non-payment. From 26 February, anyone applying to the CMS will no longer pay the £20 application fee¹. For cases involving persistent non-payment, sanctions that previously required a court application can be imposed directly, with appeal routes available to the non-resident parent¹. The CMS's existing powers to deduct money from salaries or bank accounts are unchanged¹. Gingerbread's figure of over half a billion pounds owed to children is its own assessment of the shortfall in enforcement¹.

What happens next

The scrapping of the £20 application fee takes effect on 26 February¹. Gingerbread is beginning new research into the CMS and will develop a report later this year with further recommendations, and will monitor how the changes work as part of that research¹. No date has been reported for when the direct enforcement powers take effect.