Record number of separated parents now paying almost all the child maintenance they owe
Around 130,000 parents on the Collect and Pay service are paying more than 90% of what is due, and phone waits at the Child Maintenance Service have fallen sharply.
More separated parents than ever are keeping up with child maintenance payments, according to new figures from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
Nearly 130,000 paying parents who use the Child Maintenance Service's Collect and Pay option were handing over more than 90% of the money due as of March 2026. The DWP said that was a record and an increase of about 27% in a year. Over the same period, the number of parents paying nothing at all fell by around 19%.
At the end of March, 243,000 paying parents were due to pay through Collect and Pay.
Why this matters to families
Child maintenance is money one parent pays towards the everyday costs of raising a child when the parents have separated. It covers things like food, clothes and housing, and it usually goes to the parent the child lives with most of the time.
The Child Maintenance Service supports almost 1.6 million parents across Great Britain. The DWP estimates that maintenance arrangements keep around 120,000 children out of relative poverty.
Phone lines are quicker. The department said 85% of calls to the service are now answered, up from 59% in the summer of 2024. Average waiting times have dropped from more than 28 minutes to just over 11 minutes, and more parents are managing their cases online.
The DWP said the service would continue to take action against parents who do not pay what they owe.
How the arrangements work
Parents do not have to use the government service. If both agree, they can make a private arrangement between themselves, with no one else involved, and change it whenever their circumstances change.
Where that does not work, the Child Maintenance Service can step in. It works out how much should be paid based on the paying parent's circumstances, and the first payment is usually made within 12 weeks of applying. There are two ways to pay:
- Direct Pay. The service sets the amount, and the paying parent sends the money straight to the other parent.
- Collect and Pay. The service collects the money and passes it on, and charges fees for doing so. If a paying parent does not pay in full and on time under Direct Pay, the service can move the case to Collect and Pay.
A free tool on GOV.UK, called Get help arranging child maintenance, explains the options and is the starting point for an application. Payments normally continue until the child turns 20 or leaves approved education or training, whichever comes first.
The figures come as the government sets out plans to reduce child poverty, including lifting the two-child limit on benefits. It has said it aims to lift 550,000 children out of poverty by the final year of this Parliament.
