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Children: Maintenance

Asked by Mr Joshua ReynoldsLiberal DemocratDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled Answered 26 March 2026UIN 121969

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many cases in the last three years involved child maintenance payments being incorrectly refunded to the paying parent due to clerical error; and what steps the Department is taking to reduce such errors.

Answered by Andrew Western

This information is not readily available and providing it would incur disproportionate cost.

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) works to ensure cases are kept up to date and payments are processed accurately, with controls in place to minimise incorrect refunds. The introduction of the View Parent Finances screen further improves clarity and compliance by giving caseworkers a clearer, simplified view of complex financial information.

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