The UK Child Maintenance Service (CMS) announced record results on 23 October 2026. Almost 130,000 parents on Collect & Pay pay more than 90% of what they owe. That is about 27% more than a year earlier.
The number of parents paying nothing has fallen by about 19% since March 2025. The figures relate to March 2026, when 243,000 parents on Collect & Pay were due to pay.
The CMS handles almost 1.6 million parents in Great Britain (excluding Northern Ireland). According to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), child maintenance helps keep around 120,000 children out of relative poverty.
Service has also improved. The CMS answers 85% of calls, up from just 59% in summer 2024. The average wait has fallen from more than 28 minutes to just over 11 minutes. More and more parents manage their case online. Minister Maeve Sherlock promises action against parents who avoid paying.
What it means for you
If you are raising a child alone and the other parent lives in England, Scotland or Wales, you can ask the CMS to calculate and collect maintenance. It does not matter that you are both Polish. If you are the paying parent, expect the service to enforce debts more and more effectively – including from wages. An employer can be ordered to deduct maintenance from an employee’s pay and must comply.
Our assessment
The figures are good, but they cover only some cases. About 243,000 parents pay through Collect & Pay, and about 130,000 of them pay almost in full. That means many children still receive less than they should. Better phone service is a real change for parents who for years could not get through. It is worth trying, especially when a private arrangement has stopped working.
What to do
- First check your options at GOV.UK – Child maintenance (it also has a maintenance calculator).
- Employers: when you receive a Deduction from Earnings Order, carry it out on time.
- Maintenance cases between Poland and the UK (when one parent lives in Poland) follow different procedures – ask a court or a lawyer.
Source: GOV.UK, DWP – “More money reaching children than ever thanks to Child Maintenance Service” (23.10.2026).
We assess factual corrections and substantive responses. Verified changes are reflected in our reporting.
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