New regulations are being introduced to impose tougher sanctions on parents who fail to pay child maintenance. The government says the Child Support (Enforcement) Act will enable families to be paid faster by allowing the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to use a liability order to reclaim unpaid child maintenance without applying to court and waiting up to 20 weeks. 

Enhanced Enforcement Powers 

The DWP will be able to impose tougher sanctions on non-paying parents, such as forcing the sale of property and revoking passports and driving licenses through a quick and simple administrative process. This change will allow the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) to act swiftly, pay families faster, and prevent further arrears. 

Government Statement 

DWP Minister Viscount Younger of Leckie said, “This is another step in our work to strengthen our powers and improve how the Child Maintenance Service supports children of separated parents. We want parents to collaborate where possible, but if financial responsibilities to children are not being met, the CMS will help those in need. This new law will help speed up the enforcement process to get money flowing, ultimately benefiting children.” 

Current CMS Practices 

Before escalating to tougher enforcement action, the CMS has other options, including collecting earnings directly from employers or different bank accounts. Cases involving complex income or suspected fraudulent behavior can be investigated by the CMS Financial Investigation Unit to recalculate and collect payments where parents might be declaring lower incomes but have money elsewhere, such as excessive pension contributions or company dividends. 

CMS Impact 

The CMS helps more than 900,000 children get the financial support they are entitled to and in the 12 months to March, collected or arranged a record £1.2 billion on their behalf. Child maintenance payments help keep 160,000 children out of poverty each year.