DWP Proposes Child Maintenance Fee Reforms and Enforcement Updates

The Department for Work and Pensions is proposing significant reforms to the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) charging structure and enforcement processes. Parliamentary Under-Secretary Lilian Greenwood announced a consultation to remove Direct Pay and implement a revised fee system. Under the proposal, fees for compliant parents would drop to 2%, while non-compliant parents would continue to face 20% charges.

To address criticisms that parents spend years chasing unpaid maintenance, the government is introducing Administrative Liability Orders to streamline the recovery of arrears. The CMS currently employs a range of enforcement powers, including bank account and earnings deductions, the disqualification of driving licenses and passports, and imprisonment.

These reforms follow a period of record enforcement activity. In the year ending March 2026, the CMS collected £231 million through its enforcement actions. Greenwood stated that the service operates on the principle that both parents share financial responsibility for their children and that collection fees were designed to encourage compliance and offset operational costs.