More than a third of parents fail to contribute towards child maintenance payments

Ineffective government-run scheme risks creating a poverty trap for families owed money, MPs warn

Nearly 40% of parents who are supposed to contribute towards the upkeep of their children through the government-run child maintenance system are failing to make any payments.

Most parents owing maintenance arrange their own payments, but the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) created a scheme called Collect and Pay, which calculates how much maintenance is due and takes in the funds. It is often used by low-income parents who struggle to make payments.