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Closed Reform Child Maintenance Service: Support Active Fathers & End Historic Arrears

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The CMS is meant to support children - we think that too often, it’s tearing families apart. We feel that many loving, active fathers are treated unfairly & that the CMS ignores shared parenting, fails to recognise time spent with children, & can create unaffordable debt that parents can’t dispute.

Some are being chased for historic arrears they never had a chance to challenge, pushing some families into hardship and damaging the very children the system is meant to protect.

We’re calling for change.
The CMS must:

Recognise shared parenting in its calculations.
Allow fair reviews and appeals of old debts.
Write off unfair or unaffordable historic arrears.

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    This petition will stay open until 27 April 2026.