130,000 paying parents, 85% of calls answered, and an 11-minute wait
What happened
On 23 October 2026 the Department for Work and Pensions published new figures on the Child Maintenance Service, covering the position as at March 2026. The headline is about compliance — whether parents who are supposed to pay actually pay. Nearly 130,000 parents using the Collect and Pay service are now paying more than 90% of the maintenance they owe. The department describes this as a record high, and up by around 27% in a year. At the same time, the number of parents paying nothing at all has fallen by around 19% since March 2025. Some scale for those numbers: 243,000 parents were due to pay through Collect and Pay as at March 2026, and the Child Maintenance Service supports almost 1.6 million parents across Great Britain. The department also published figures on getting through on the phone. 85% of calls were answered, up from 59% in summer 2024. The average wait fell from more than 28 minutes to just over 11 minutes. On the wider effect, the department says maintenance arrangements help keep around 120,000 children out of relative poverty. Baroness Maeve Sherlock, Minister for Lords, said: "Our priority is simple – ensuring children get the support they are entitled to from both parents."
Why this matters
Child maintenance is one of those systems that is invisible until you need it, and then it is the most important thing in your life. For a separated parent raising children on a single income, maintenance is not pocket money. It is the difference between the gas bill being manageable and not. The figure that stands out is the 120,000 children the department says are kept out of relative poverty by these arrangements. That is why the compliance numbers matter more than they might sound. Having an assessment on paper is no use if nothing arrives. A system where a growing share of paying parents meet more than 90% of what they owe is a system doing its actual job. The phone figures matter for a different reason. Anyone who has tried to sort out a maintenance problem knows that a 28-minute wait is not just annoying. It is a wait you take during a working day, often with children nearby, often to discuss something distressing. Cutting that to just over 11 minutes, and answering 85% of calls rather than 59%, changes whether people give up. The other side of this is uncomfortable but honest. These improvements are measured against a situation that was poor. A 59% answer rate meant two in five callers did not get through at all.
What the evidence actually says
Read the figures carefully, because several of them are easy to misread. "Nearly 130,000 parents paying more than 90%" is a count of paying parents, not of children. It also sits inside a bigger number: 243,000 parents were due to pay through Collect and Pay. So the majority of Collect and Pay parents were not in that over-90% group as at March 2026. The "up around 27% in a year" is a change in that compliance count, not a claim that 27% more money arrived. The fall in parents paying nothing is given as around 19%, and in one place as "almost 20%". It is a proportional fall, not a number of people. The announcement gives no total sum of maintenance arranged or collected, and no enforcement figures. It states the intention — "where parents don't meet their responsibilities, we will take action" — without saying how many times action was taken. The 120,000 children kept out of relative poverty is a modelled estimate of the effect of maintenance arrangements, not a headcount. It is also worth separating the department's own performance from the broader policy claims. The answer rates and waiting times are things the department directly controls. The commitment to lift 550,000 children out of poverty in the final year of this Parliament, including by lifting the two-child benefit limit, is a separate policy with a separate timetable, and is not evidence about how the Child Maintenance Service is running.
Practical advice
If you are a separated parent, a few things are worth knowing. You do not have to use the Child Maintenance Service. Many parents make a private, family-based arrangement, which costs nothing and can be more flexible. It also has no enforcement behind it if payments stop. If you want the service involved, start at gov.uk/child-maintenance-service. It explains how maintenance is worked out, what Direct Pay and Collect and Pay mean, and what fees apply. Direct Pay means the service calculates the amount and the two parents handle the money themselves. Collect and Pay means the service collects it and passes it on. Collect and Pay is the route with enforcement attached, and it is the route these new compliance figures describe. Keep records of everything. Dates, amounts, what was agreed and what actually arrived. If you ever need to escalate, the written trail is what makes the difference. If payments have stopped, report it rather than waiting. Enforcement can only follow a reported problem. If you are the paying parent and your income has dropped, tell the service straight away. An assessment can be revised. Arrears built up in silence are much harder to deal with than a change reported on time. And if you need to call, remember that waits have improved but not vanished. Mid-morning mid-week is usually easier than Monday first thing.
What to know
On 23 October 2026 the DWP published Child Maintenance Service figures for March 2026. Nearly 130,000 Collect and Pay parents are paying more than 90% of what they owe, a record high and up around 27% in a year, out of 243,000 parents due to pay through that route. The number paying nothing fell by around 19% since March 2025. The service supports almost 1.6 million parents across Great Britain, and the department estimates maintenance keeps around 120,000 children out of relative poverty. Call handling improved sharply: 85% of calls answered, up from 59% in summer 2024, with average waits down from over 28 minutes to just over 11. No total amount collected and no enforcement figures were published. If you are owed maintenance and it has stopped arriving, report it rather than waiting. Sources: Department for Work and Pensions, "More money reaching children than ever thanks to Child Maintenance Service", 23 October 2026, https://www.gov.uk/government/news/more-money-reaching-children-than-ever-thanks-to-child-maintenance-service; GOV.UK, "Child Maintenance Service", https://www.gov.uk/child-maintenance-service This article is for general information and is not legal or financial advice. It also does not replace advice from a doctor, pharmacist or other qualified healthcare professional. If a family situation is affecting your health, your GP is a reasonable place to start.
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