Parents will be protected from having direct contact with abusive ex-partners when claiming child maintenance payments under new reforms announced by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP).
Parents using the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) will be allowed to opt for the Collect and Pay system, which passes payments from one parent to the other, without the consent of an abusive ex-partner. It means domestic abuse survivors will not have to deal with the Direct Pay system, where a parent pays the other parent directly. Prior to the reforms, both parents had to agree to use the collect and pay system.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), which is responsible for the CMS, said the proposals will stop perpetrators from using child maintenance as a form of financial abuse and control.
