Findings: how CMS systems affect paying parents

1) Calculations improved — but many parents still cannot see how the figure was built

The National Audit Office (NAO, 2022) found that DWP had reduced monetary assessment error on the current CMS scheme from 2.17% (2015–16) to 0.65% (2020–21). That is real improvement.

The same report recorded that parents responding to the NAO’s consultation often did not understand how calculations had been determined and believed figures were inaccurate. NAO also warned that a growing minority of paying parents have more complex earnings (for example unearned income), which makes further error reduction harder.

Why this matters for paying parents: an “accurate” internal metric is not the same as a transparent breakdown you can check. If you cannot see income period, band, shared care, and adjustments, you cannot safely accept enforcement of the balance.

2) Collect & Pay charges paying parents 20% on top

On Collect & Pay, GOV.UK states that:

• paying parents pay a 20% collection fee added to each maintenance amount collected; and
• receiving parents have 4% deducted from amounts passed on.

DWP guidance also states that paying parents are charged a collection fee even if they miss a payment. Direct Pay has no collection fee.

The House of Commons Library notes that the 2013 fees design deliberately put the highest charges on paying parents when cases move to Collect & Pay, as an incentive to keep Direct Pay working. Government has since consulted on fee reform (including proposals to change the fee structure in future years) — check current GOV.UK wording for what applies to your case today.

Why this matters: a disputed liability escalated onto Collect & Pay does not only risk enforcement — it can add a structural 20% cost on collections while the dispute is unresolved. Ask for a schedule that separates maintenance, fees, and arrears recovery.

3) Cases often arrive on Collect & Pay already carrying months of arrears

NAO found that around half of new Direct Pay arrangements were not sustained or not effective, and that paying parents moving onto Collect & Pay in the quarter ending September 2021 owed on average about £1,100 — roughly five months of maintenance — before the move.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) criticised slow identification of failing Direct Pay cases and slow progression to effective enforcement where non-compliance continues, while also noting that some paying parents simply cannot afford the assessed amount.

Why this matters: “opening arrears” can mix missed Direct Pay periods, timing between calculation and first Collect & Pay schedule, and disputed amounts. Paying parents should demand a line-by-line ledger for the opening balance — not only the latest running total.

4) Low-income paying parents are over-represented in arrears

NAO reported that 46% of paying parents using CMS did not earn enough to pay income tax (£12,570 in 2021–22), but those parents made up 62% of those with arrears as at March 2021.

Department surveys cited by NAO highlighted affordability as a barrier to compliance. There are statutory safeguards (for example limits on certain Universal Credit deductions), but parents still report enforcement pressure while figures remain disputed.

Why this matters: arrears are not automatically evidence of refusal to pay. Challenge incorrect figures promptly, keep paying undisputed amounts where you can, and record affordability evidence for complaints and tribunals.

5) Child maintenance generates more complaints than other DWP topics

NAO reported overall customer satisfaction of 46% in the quarter ending September 2020, and that DWP receives more complaints about child maintenance than any other subject. About one in three complaints were upheld — a lower uphold rate than for other services — yet upheld complaints per customer were still the highest of any topic (1.15 per 1,000 customers in the year to 30 September 2021).

Why this matters: a high complaint volume with a low uphold rate still leaves many parents needing Independent Case Examiner escalation. Use the formal complaint → review → ICE path and keep a call log.

6) Direct Pay is lightly monitored — then Collect & Pay becomes the visible system

DWP’s published statistics state that CMS monitors payments through Collect & Pay only. Direct Pay non-payment typically becomes visible when a receiving parent reports missed payments and the case moves over.

In the quarter ending March 2025, DWP reported that of paying parents due to pay via Collect & Pay, 69% paid some maintenance and 31% paid none in that quarter. Of £100.6 million arranged on Collect & Pay that quarter, £72.5 million was paid and £28.1 million unpaid.

Why this matters for paying parents who did pay on Direct Pay: if CMS never saw your bank transfers, Collect & Pay opening arrears can look like non-compliance. Your evidence pack must prove payments independently of CMS’s Collect & Pay ledger.

What this means in practice

We track transparency gaps (MR overturn rates, disputed Collect & Pay opening arrears, fee refunds after corrected calculations) in our FOI Register.

Sources

1. National Audit Office, Child maintenance (HC 1139, March 2022) — PDF
2. Public Accounts Committee, Child Maintenance — report
3. DWP, Child Maintenance Service statistics: data to March 2025 — GOV.UK
4. GOV.UK, Child Maintenance Service: Making and receiving payments (fees) — link
5. GOV.UK, Child maintenance: paying through the Child Maintenance Service (fees if payment missed) — link
6. House of Commons Library, What fees are charged when arranging child maintenance? — briefing
7. GOV.UK, How child maintenance is worked out — link
8. Citizens Advice, challenging what CMS says you should pay — guide

Editorial standard: see Corrections. We separate legacy CSA debt issues from current CMS 2012-scheme calculations.