UK Child Maintenance Tracker
Unpaid child maintenance has reached £791.2 million since the Child Maintenance Service began in 2012
A sourced, quarterly tracker of Child Maintenance Service caseloads, money flows, compliance and arrears across Great Britain, compiled from official DWP statistics. Latest edition: data to March 2026, published 30 June 2026.
Key findings
- £791.2 million of child maintenance has gone unpaid since the CMS began in 2012, equal to 7 percent of all maintenance due to be paid since the start of the service.
- The CMS managed around 810,000 arrangements as at March 2026, covering 1.1 million children, up 44,000 on a year earlier.
- Of the £405.1m due in the quarter to March 2026, £292.3m was due through Direct Pay and £112.8m through Collect and Pay.
- Within Collect and Pay, £86.5m was paid and £26.3m went unpaid in the quarter; 77 percent of paying parents paid some maintenance, and 54 percent paid more than 90 percent of what they owed.
- The service received around 38,000 new applications in the quarter and 150,000 in the year to March 2026, down 1 percent on the previous year.
Source: Department for Work and Pensions, Child Maintenance Service statistics, data to March 2026, published under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Figures may be cited with attribution to Divorce Finance Specialists.
Who uses the Child Maintenance Service
The CMS is the statutory scheme for child maintenance in Great Britain, used when separated parents do not make a purely private family based arrangement. As at March 2026 it managed around 810,000 arrangements involving roughly 730,000 paying parents and covering 1.1 million children. The caseload continues to grow: the number of children covered rose by 44,000 over the year.
| Service type | Arrangements | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Direct Pay | 450,000 | 55% |
| Collect and Pay | 350,000 | 43% |
| Not yet assigned | 13,000 | 2% |
Caseload figures are rounded as published by DWP, so shares and components do not sum exactly.
The money: Direct Pay vs Collect and Pay
In the quarter to March 2026, £405.1m of child maintenance was due through the CMS. Most of it, £292.3m, was due through Direct Pay, where the CMS sets the amount but parents transfer the money between themselves with no collection fee. The remaining £112.8m was due through Collect and Pay, where the CMS collects the money, charging the paying parent a 20 percent collection fee and deducting 4 percent from the receiving parent.
The fee structure matters for separated parents doing the sums: on a £100 weekly liability, Collect and Pay costs the paying parent £120 and delivers £96 to the receiving parent, so £24 a week is absorbed in fees. That is the price of enforcement when Direct Pay breaks down.
Compliance and arrears
Compliance is only measured where the CMS handles the money. In the quarter to March 2026, 77 percent of Collect and Pay paying parents paid some maintenance: 54 percent paid more than 90 percent of their quarterly liability and 23 percent paid up to 90 percent. In money terms, £86.5m of the £112.8m due through Collect and Pay was paid, leaving £26.3m unpaid in a single quarter.
Those quarterly shortfalls accumulate. Since the CMS began in 2012, £791.2 million of maintenance due has gone unpaid, 7 percent of all maintenance due to be paid since the start of the service. Direct Pay non-compliance is not captured in these figures at all, because DWP does not observe payments made directly between parents, so the true amount of missed maintenance across both service types is higher than the published arrears figure.
Methodology and sources
Source data. All figures are taken from the DWP Child Maintenance Service statistics, the official quarterly publication covering Great Britain. This edition uses data to March 2026, published 30 June 2026; the next release is due 29 September 2026, and this tracker is refreshed each quarter.
Definitions. Caseload figures are rounded as published by DWP. Money figures are for maintenance scheduled to be paid in the quarter. Compliance covers Collect and Pay only; Direct Pay payments pass between parents and are not observed. Cumulative arrears run from the start of the service in 2012 and are expressed by DWP as a share of all maintenance due since then. Where a figure is not published, it is left blank in this tracker; nothing is estimated.
- Child Maintenance Service statistics: data to March 2026 (Department for Work and Pensions)
Download the tracker data (CSV)
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Free to cite and republish with attribution to Divorce Finance Specialists. This page is a data summary and does not constitute legal or financial advice on any individual situation.
Working out the money side of separation?
Child maintenance is one piece of the financial picture when parents separate, alongside the family home, pensions and everyday budgeting. Our calculators and guides cover the numbers so you can see where you stand.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Direct Pay and Collect and Pay?
Under Direct Pay, the Child Maintenance Service calculates the maintenance amount but the paying parent transfers the money directly to the receiving parent, with no collection fee. Under Collect and Pay, the CMS collects and passes on the money itself, charging the paying parent a 20 percent collection fee on top of the liability and deducting 4 percent from the receiving parent. As at March 2026, 55 percent of arrangements used Direct Pay and 43 percent used Collect and Pay.
How much child maintenance goes unpaid?
On DWP figures to March 2026, £791.2 million of child maintenance due through the Collect and Pay service has gone unpaid since the CMS began in 2012, equal to 7 percent of all maintenance due to be paid since the start of the service. In the quarter to March 2026 alone, £26.3 million of Collect and Pay maintenance went unpaid.
How many families use the Child Maintenance Service?
As at March 2026 the CMS managed around 810,000 arrangements involving roughly 730,000 paying parents, covering 1.1 million children, an increase of 44,000 children on a year earlier. The service received around 150,000 new applications in the year to March 2026.
What share of paying parents actually pay?
Compliance is only measured for Collect and Pay, where the CMS handles the money. In the quarter to March 2026, 77 percent of Collect and Pay paying parents paid some maintenance: 54 percent paid more than 90 percent of the amount due in the quarter and 23 percent paid up to 90 percent. Direct Pay compliance is not measured by DWP, because payments pass directly between parents.
Is child maintenance taxable?
No. Child maintenance payments are not taxable income for the receiving parent, and the paying parent gets no tax relief on them. The maintenance calculation itself, however, is based on the paying parent's gross taxable income as reported to HMRC, so changes in salary, dividends or pension contributions can change the liability.
Where does this data come from?
All figures come from the Department for Work and Pensions Child Maintenance Service statistics, an official quarterly publication covering Great Britain, released under the Open Government Licence v3.0. This tracker is refreshed each quarter when a new edition is published; the next release is due on 29 September 2026.