Reform Child Maintenance Service enforcement to prevent repeated non-payment

Background

At present, parents who fail to pay through Direct Pay can be moved onto a Deduction from Earnings Order (DEO), but can default back to DP even with a history of non-payment. Enabling repeated defaulting, leaving children and resident parents without financial support for upto 3 months at a time.

Additional details

Ensure once a DEO is in place it remains until arrears are cleared and a consistent record of payment is established. Prevent non-paying parents from defaulting to DP. Strengthen penalties for persistent non-payment. Enforcing maintenance obligations consistently and promptly, will protect children from financial harm. Children are disadvantaged because the system allows repeated non-payment. Close the loopholes and ensure maintenance obligations are enforced effectively.