Kirith Entwistle

Kirith Entwistle

Labour — Bolton North East

Speaking in the House of Commons on 17 March 2026

Debate

Child Maintenance Service

Contribution

The hon. Member is absolutely right. I will come on to that issue shortly. Surely we must ask whether this is really the standard we are willing to accept. Another fundamental weakness lies in how the CMS deals with shared care, in that it absolutely fails to do so. In theory, maintenance calculations are meant to reflect the number of nights a child spends with each parent; in reality, the system largely relies on what parents report themselves. Rather than establishing the reality of shared care, the number of nights is effectively averaged out based on those reports, with no evidence required. When parents try to push back and provide evidence, that is often disregarded unless a court order is in place.

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