Review the child maintenance service

Review how the child maintenance service is run. We think the child maintenance service makes it very difficult for paying parents to work, due to high calculations and unexpected arrears. Some parents may refuse to go into direct pay because of concerns about the system. Some parents feel forced to stay on benefits, as they may not be able to afford to pay the arrears within 2 years, and think the monthly payments if they were to work would be unaffordable.