Parents pushed to breaking point by Child Maintenance Service, BBC told
Summary
Parents in the UK are experiencing serious problems with the Child Maintenance Service (CMS), which helps separated parents arrange child support payments. Some parents said missed payments and errors have caused financial hardship and stress, while the government says most cases are handled well.Key Facts
- The Child Maintenance Service helps separated parents secure financial support for their children.
- About 800,000 cases involving over a million children are currently managed by the CMS in England, Scotland, and Wales.
- The number of CMS cases has increased by about 300,000 in the past five years.
- Some mothers reported not receiving payments totaling thousands of pounds, leading to financial struggles including relying on food banks.
- Fathers reported stress and errors, such as incorrect children added to their accounts.
- The CMS uses a formula based mainly on the paying parent's income to calculate payments.
- If a paying parent does not pay directly, CMS can take money from wages or benefits using a service called Collect and Pay.
- Collect and Pay cases include extra fees: 20% charged to the payer and 4% to the receiver.
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