Hastings MP’s Child Support Collection (Domestic Abuse) Bill progresses to the House of Lords

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) aids the payment process of child maintenance between separated parents who cannot reach an agreement on their own. They manage child maintenance cases through two types of service: Collect and Pay and Direct Pay. For Direct Pay the CMS calculate and provide a payment schedule, but payments are arranged separately between the parents. For Collect and Pay, the CMS calculates the maintenance payment, and then collects the money from the paying parent and pays into to the receiving parents’ account.

Current legislation means that the default option is Direct Pay, unless the paying parent agrees to Collect and Pay, or demonstrates unwillingness to pay their liability. This Bill will amend primary legislation that will allow victims of abuse to use the Collect and Pay service where there is evidence of domestic abuse against the paying parent or children in the household, without the consent of the paying parent.