New child maintenance powers to protect victims from domestic abusers

A government-backed Bill ensuring victims of domestic abuse can receive financial support for their children without contact from their abuser has been approved by Parliament.

The new law will allow the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) to intervene on behalf of parents where abuse is evident, using its powers to collect and make payments.

This set-up, called Collect and Pay, is already used by 37 percent of parents using the CMS. It provides extra protections for parents who have experienced domestic abuse by avoiding the need for contact and preventing perpetrators from inflicting financial abuse and control.

However, according to the latest CMS figures covering the final quarter of 2022, 35 percent of parents – mostly fathers – who were due to pay maintenance, failed to pay any during that period.

Work and Pensions Minister, Viscount Younger of Leckie, said: ‘Domestic abuse and coercive control are abhorrent crimes. This positive change will enhance our existing support for domestic abuse victims and ensure they can make a child maintenance claim without the fear of having to deal with an abusive ex-partner.’

The Child Support Collection (Domestic Abuse) Bill will gain Royal Assent in the coming weeks after successfully passing both Houses of Parliament. It will build on the CMS’s existing procedures to protect both paying and receiving parents who are vulnerable to domestic abuse, ensuring more children in separated families are supported. The Private Members’ Bill was taken through Parliament by Sally-Ann Hart MP and Lord Farmer, with support from the government.

The change comes following recommendations by a leading expert on domestic abuse, Dr Samantha Callan, who led an independent review into the CMS’s support for victims.

Dr Callan said: ‘I am heartened that the government have so quickly legislated to strengthen support for parents experiencing domestic abuse following my review. This extra layer of protection for both parents and children was an important one of my recommendations to build on the CMS’s substantial reform in this area.’

Another government-backed Bill – the Child Support (Enforcement) Bill – which is soon also to become law, will simplify the court process of recouping child maintenance arrears, while continuing to protect paying parents’ appeal rights. This change in this Bill is intended to make it easier and quicker for the CMS to take enforcement action and recoup money owed to families.

Image: Annie Spratt