Thousands of children missing out on support payments, figures show

Tens of thousands of children in Scotland could be missing out on the financial support they are entitled to, figures obtained by the Scottish Liberal Democrats have shown.

Data released under a freedom of information request reveals up to 22,760 parents are in arrears on their Child Maintenance Service (CMS) payments.

The figures also indicate there are around 180 cases where more than £20,000 in child maintenance is owed.

The Child Maintenance Service, run by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), is responsible for calculating and collecting payments from separated parents to help support their children.

The Scottish Liberal Democrats urged the Scottish and UK governments to work together to tackle the problem.

Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP Willie Rennie said: “No child should be left without the financial support they are entitled to.

“The fact that some are owed more than £20,000 suggests that both of Scotland’s governments are not doing enough to help families chase down what is owed.

“The SNP and the UK Government must get an urgent grip on this situation, whether that is by tracking individuals who are avoiding their responsibilities or helping those who find paying difficult to get their finances in order.

“We also need a growing Scottish economy with secure and well-paid work to avoid people finding themselves in this situation in the first place.”

A UK Government spokesperson said: “The Child Maintenance Service keeps around 120,000 children out of poverty every year, and our compliance rate has improved to 75%.

“Where parents don’t pay, we have strong enforcement powers including deductions directly from wages, benefits or bank accounts, and court action that can result in the loss of a driving licence or passport.

“We’re also taking forward reforms that we estimate will lift a further 20,000 children out of poverty.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “This is a reserved matter for the UK Government and we call on them to take action to ensure Scotland’s children and young people are not missing out.

“Eradicating child poverty is critically important to the Scottish Government and our policies are estimated to keep around 100,000 children out of relative poverty this year. We continue to push the UK Government to engage at a ministerial level to work more closely with the Scottish Government to support and complement the action we have already taken.”