Children: Maintenance
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of Child Maintenance Service delays and errors on child poverty levels and low-income households.
Answered by Andrew Western
We know that children in separated families are poorer and more likely to live in poverty than those in non-separated families. Child maintenance payments through both statutory and non-statutory arrangements keep approximately 120,000 children out of poverty each year.
The Department legally relies on data from HM Revenue & Customs and its own benefits data to assess 90% of paying parents earned income and benefit status, which are key parts of the maintenance calculation and maintains a stable accuracy rate of 99.5%
CMS undertake regular quality assurance checks and continually monitors processes to identify improvements.
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