The issues within the Child Maintenance System (CMS) are well known, so much so that the system was subject to a public consultation in 2024.
The system is based on overnight stays. Simply put, the more nights children spend with a parent receiving maintenance, the higher the payments they are entitled to. For those trying to claim maintenance from an abusive ex-partner, the system can create a cruel dilemma.
Parents often face insistence from abusive former partners to increase overnight contact with their children, in order to avoid paying child maintenance. Yet, when children are most vulnerable, and need to feel safest is at night.
It’s a flaw that puts vulnerable children in a dangerous position.
The system is deeply flawed in its design. Irrespective of what is in the best interests of the child, an ex-partner may suddenly push for as much overnight contact as possible – not out of love or care, but to reduce payments to the victim parent, an act of financial abuse.
Whatever happened to putting the child’s best interests first? Once again, we have a system hurting the very people it’s meant to protect.
Frequently, the very people who seek reliance on this system are those who have been financially abused for years. Their children, too, have suffered, not only financially, but emotionally, deprived of a genuinely happy and stable home.
Far too often, those relying on the CMS have already battled through the family courts and been financially ruined by their abuser. The safe parent and their children need financial support to recover, to stabilise their future, and to access the treatment essential for healing from abuse, such as talking therapy.
How the CMS System is Manipulated
Abusers will deliberately reduce their declared income. Those who are self-employed may channel their earnings to a limited company instead of to themselves personally and then avoid declaring dividends from their limited company, therefore, keeping the maintenance amount to a minimum as their income is very low.
For the abuser, it becomes another form of control. The victim must be punished for leaving them, after all. Funds are hidden, income goes undeclared, and suddenly, the same person who once held financial power claims to be out of work. This is all of course with complete disregard as to the impact of the children. CMS began in 2012, since then, according to Official Department for Work & Pensions statistics, £791 million remains unpaid in child maintenance.
Given that we live in a digital era, with national insurance numbers, online banking and even artificial intelligence, it’s staggering that the system still depends on abusers to declare their own finances – a process that plays directly into their hands.
All too often, parents who resort to using the CMS have experienced abuse. It is no coincidence that as rates of domestic abuse rise, so too does the number of people relying on the CMS (45,000 more children were covered by CMS arrangements between June 2024 and June 2025).
Furthermore, the CMS will write to the paying parent to tell them the amount and when they are to pay, this may say for example, to pay on the first of each month. The abuser will then pay at the end of the month, the following month, or not at all, and the CMS see no issue in this. There is no switch to direct pay, provided they make payment, even if this is several days or months later. Irrespective of the implications of the receiving parent, who may not be able to pay bills and meet certain payment deadlines on time as a result. The abuser’s actions are essentially to punish the victim parent. If the victim complains, the abusive parent will then portray the victim to be financially greedy.
The CMS System Mimics Abuse
The processes the CMS have in place are flawed, especially as those who manipulate the system are deeply dishonest. “We will investigate” will often mean we will phone the paying parent, replay what you have said, and ask them whether this is correct. Unsurprisingly, they will, of course, negate this. Victims are expected to provide evidence to CMS for themselves.
The abuser will not only be dishonest over the phone and in conversation, but will also often manipulate bank statements, most of which are PDFs and far too easy to change. They do not care for any repercussions. The CMS will then reject the receiving parent’s application, stating they have spoken to the abuser or that the contrary has been confirmed with evidence. In reality, no credible investigation takes place; all of this aids the abuser to continue to inflict abuse.
The CMS rarely call paying parents in for questioning. Late payments, partial payments or payments which are not in accordance with their agreed amounts are frequently tolerated, essentially teaching the abuser they can bend the rules as they wish, leaving receiving parents and their children to bear the consequences.
The Courts assume in making decisions on financial cases that the receiving payment will receive fair and timely CMS payments.
The Unreachables
The CMS is essentially uncontactable.
There is no chat or email option online. There are strict requirements for anything to be uploaded to the system. Even the CMS complaint system is broken.
There is no email system through which you can contact CMS; you must have a piece of evidence to upload into the portal to submit any comments. If you use the telephone system, you may be put on hold for over 30 minutes, an hour, or even longer, only to be cut off. Single parents, juggling work, childcare, and other responsibilities, simply do not have the time for this – nor should they have to. Yet again, the way the system operates silences victims, leaving their voices unheard.
The complaints process leads you to the Department of Work and Pensions, which will only handle your complaint once you have received a response from the CMS. Therefore, if your complaint is that the CMS have not responded at all, there is no way to escalate it, leaving you with no recourse.
The system therefore becomes a platform that allows abusers to continue both the financial and psychological manipulation of their victims. Ultimately, it punishes the children, who have a right and a genuine need for these funds. It places additional stress on the children’s safe parent, further traumatising the family. The only real solution is to redesign the system, particularly the basis of the calculations being overnight stays.
As it stands, the CMS only serves to demonstrate that society tolerates dishonesty, manipulation and abusive behaviour.
Disclaimer: This article reflects personal experiences and general awareness, not formal legal advice. This post does not represent an official legal position of Hartley Law. For help or advice on related legal matters, please seek independent legal advice from a solicitor for your circumstances.
The freephone, 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline 0808 2000 247
