The Department for Work and Pensions is facing pressure to reform child maintenance laws, as calls mount for evasion to become a criminal offence. The demands come just days after parents revealed the agency responsible for securing financial support for children following separation or divorce is pushing them to breaking point.
Panorama report highlights CMS failures
The BBC's Panorama programme reported this week that mothers were struggling with the Child Maintenance Service to ensure their former partners paid what they owed. Fathers also told the programme they had been left distressed by administrative errors. One mother revealed she had to rely on food banks after the CMS failed to enforce payment from her ex-partner, resulting in arrears of nearly £10,000.
Some are now pushing for legislative change to address this issue. The petition on Parliament's petitions page states: "It would be child neglect if a parent providing full time care failed to provide a child with food, clothing or shelter. Yet, when a parent deliberately avoids child maintenance, depriving their child of those same essentials, it is not treated the same. It should be made a criminal offence.
"We call on the Government to legally recognise the deliberate and persistent evasion of child maintenance obligations as a form of statutory child neglect. Where there is clear evidence that a parent has intentionally avoided providing financial support for their child, the Government should introduce criminal sanctions. Children should be protected from financial neglect just as they are protected from other forms of neglect."
CMS caseload and enforcement powers
Approximately four million children across England, Scotland and Wales have separated parents. Parents are required to establish a child maintenance arrangement if the child is aged under 16, or under 20 if they are in approved education or training. Both parents bear responsibility for the costs of raising their children, regardless of whether they maintain contact with them.
Government figures reveal that in the quarter ending December 2025, of 240,000 Paying Parents obliged to pay via the Collect and Pay service, 59,000 (25%) paid no maintenance and 180,000 (75%) paid some maintenance. The CMS is currently managing more than 800,000 cases across England, Scotland and Wales, affecting more than a million children. Northern Ireland operates a separate service.
The number of CMS cases has increased by approximately 300,000 over the past five years. There were also more than 1,400 complaints during the first three months of this year, according to the DWP's most recent annual report. In Collect and Pay cases, the CMS applies a fee of 20% to the sum owed by the paying parent. It also charges the receiving parent 4% of the money they are entitled to receive.
Petition and next steps
Gov.uk guidance shows that the CMS holds the authority to attempt recovery of arrears if parents fall behind with payments. It can also pursue court action to establish that a debt exists and recover it using a liability order. Ongoing maintenance payments can be enforced through regular deductions from earnings or benefits. The paying parent may also choose to use these methods on a voluntary basis.
People have until January 23 to sign the petition. Should it reach 10,000 signatures, the Government will be forced to respond. Should it reach 100,000 signatures, it will be considered for debate in Parliament. So far only 53 people have signed it, but the renewed interest in the subject generated by the Panorama programme may bring it into the spotlight.
CMS director Simon Hunter told Panorama he believed the service "has worked pretty effectively". "Every case has its own set of circumstances and there are always two sides to the case as well so... we do work through that as best as we possibly can," he told the BBC. "Any opportunity for us, for myself, to improve the service, then we will absolutely take that on board."
