This petition was submitted during the 2019-2024 parliament
Rejected petition Open child maintenance phone lines
Shake up child maintenance service so parents have a point of contact and support when the non resident parent does not pay, or when they need to discuss other things in person.
More details
Child maintenance services are very difficult to navigate without the added complications of not being able to speak to a advisor. Refusing a telephone service to parents who are struggling to understand the procedure is limiting support and allowing paying parents to use the situation to further withhold payments. Unpaid child maintenance is creating child poverty
This petition was rejected
Why was this petition rejected?
It’s about something that the UK Government or Parliament is not directly responsible for.
Petitions must call for a specific action that the UK Government or Parliament are directly responsible for.
Decisions about how to answer phone calls are an operational matter for individual agencies, not a decision for the Government or Parliament.
There are a number of ways you can contact the CMS, which you can find out about here: https://childmaintenanceservice.direct.gov.uk/onlinerevive/public/contact-us
If you are unhappy with the service the CMS has provided you could complain about this. Citizens Advice has published guidance on how to complain about the CMS, which you can view here: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/family/children-and-young-people/child-maintenance1/complaining-about-the-child-maintenance-service
We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards.