Child Maintenance Service failing parents, Panorama finds
Panorama investigation reveals the Child Maintenance Service is failing separated parents, with mothers struggling to get payments and fathers hit by administrative errors.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
A Panorama investigation has found that the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) is failing separated parents, with mothers struggling to secure payments and fathers suffering from administrative errors. The BBC programme heard from parents on both sides who say the system is driving them to breaking point.
One mother, Katie, approached the CMS more than two years ago after separating from her partner. Her ex is meant to pay more than £330 a month, but she has not received the money. Her CMS profile shows arrears of nearly £10,000. Katie said she struggled so much last year that she used food banks and had to tell her children they could not do clubs or activities with friends. Her ex-partner did not respond to questions. The CMS said it had apologised for delays in her case and made a consolatory payment.
Fathers also described problems. Jerry, who has two children from previous relationships, said the CMS often got things wrong. He requested all his paperwork and found evidence of a serious mistake from a decade ago: a third qualifying child had been added to his account and backdated, even though he has no third child. Jerry said the years of disputes and mistakes had taken a heavy toll on his mental health. The CMS said it had acknowledged and apologised for previous failings in his case and provided consolatory payments.
Official figures show the scale of the problem. In the first three months of this year, around 61,000 CMS cases saw no payment at all. The CMS, which is part of the Department for Work and Pensions, said it takes very seriously the small number of cases where things go wrong, but in the vast majority it successfully arranges vital payments. A DWP spokesperson said: "Where we have made some mistakes, where we have made life difficult for our customers, I absolutely apologise for that."
The government says it is planning to reform the child maintenance service, but many parents on both sides say change is long overdue. The Panorama programme, titled "Child Maintenance: Parents Under Pressure", airs on BBC One at 8pm tonight and is available on iPlayer.
On screen
Stills are sampled automatically at 60-second intervals. Where shown, the still is the nearest available frame from the relevant broadcast segment and is included to show what was on screen during that part of the broadcast. A still may not correspond to the exact second of a quoted phrase.
Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | BBC News | BBC One |
|---|---|---|
| A mother named Katie said her ex-partner failed to pay over £330 a month, leaving nearly £10,000 in arrears. | ||
| Around 61,000 Child Maintenance Service cases received no payment in the first three months of the year. | ||
| Jerry said CMS errors and disputes had a severe impact on his mental health. | ||
| The Child Maintenance Service acknowledged failings in Jerry's case, apologised, and provided consolatory payments. | ||
| The Child Maintenance Service apologised for delays in Katie's case and made a consolatory payment. | ||
| The CMS apologised for making life difficult for customers. | · |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
This broadcast leads with a separate story about a fatal crash in Ireland, then presents the CMS investigation as a major item. It includes the full report from Krupa Padhy and ends with a brief mention of Jared Kushner's Middle East meetings. The tone is factual and straightforward, with no additional analysis beyond the report.
- “It's got my total arrears that my ex owes, which is nearly 10 grand.”
- “In the first three months of this year, around 61,000 CMS cases saw no payment.”
- “The CMS told us it has acknowledged and apologised for previous failings in Jerry's case and provided solitary payments.”
This broadcast leads with the death of actor Hayden Panettiere, then presents the CMS investigation as a secondary story. It includes the same report from Krupa Padhy and ends with a brief item about Bonnie Tyler's funeral. The editorial tone is similar to the other BBC bulletins, but the CMS story is given less prominence by being placed after the celebrity news.
- “It's got my total arrears that my ex owes which is nearly 10 grand”
- “I did go to food banks”
- “The CMS says it's apologized for delays in her case and has made a consolatory payment”
This signed broadcast follows the same structure as the second BBC ONE West bulletin, leading with Hayden Panettiere's death and then covering the CMS investigation. The report is identical in content, but the channel is BBC NEWS and the programme is 'Signed: BBC News at Six'. The emphasis is on delivering the key facts of the investigation without additional context.
- “It's got my total arrears that my ex owes which is nearly 10 grand”
- “I just become numb like Personally, I shut myself down”
- “Where we have made some mistakes Where we have made life difficult for our customers. I absolutely apologize for that”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.