The Department’s legislation for child maintenance is designed to encourage parents to use Direct Pay first, but around half of Direct Pay arrangements are either not sustained or not effective. The Department told us that it preferred parents using its CMS to have a Direct Pay arrangement as it believed this created a more positive environment for co- parenting. The Department charges fees for its Collect & Pay service to encourage parents to try Direct Pay arrangements first. Under child ma...

The Department’s legislation for child maintenance is designed to encourage parents to use Direct Pay first, but around half of Direct Pay arrangements are either not sustained or not effective. The Department told us that it preferred parents using its CMS to have a Direct Pay arrangement as it believed this created a more positive environment for co- parenting. The Department charges fees for its Collect & Pay service to encourage parents to try Direct Pay arrangements first. Under child maintenance legislation, unless both parents agree to start on Collect & Pay, there must be clear evidence that the paying parent is unlikely to pay volunt Type: conclusion | Number: 22 | Response status: not_addressed