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CMS overhaul: administrative liability orders, formula review, planned Direct Pay abolition, protections for domestic abuse victims and improved HMRC-DWP data-sharing—what practitioners need to know (2025–28)

Published on: 15 October 2025

Published by a LexisNexis Family expert
Legal News
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Article summary

A House of Lords committee has urged sweeping, urgent changes to the Child Maintenance Service (CMS), targeting obsolete calculations, slow enforcement, and seriously inadequate protection for victims of domestic abuse.

Issued on 14 October 2025 as the Public Services Committee’s third report of the 2024–26 session, it flags measures already timetabled for 2025–26, including new enforcement powers and a consultation on a comprehensive review of how maintenance is calculated.

The report also summarises how the system currently operates, offers concise analysis of the difficulties experienced by service users, and presents a digest of ministerial announcements on proposed changes and improvements.

This News Analysis explores what might happen when, and the issues practitioners need to watch for.

How and when will enforcement of maintenance debts change?

By the end of 2025, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) plans to introduce legislation to implement administrative liability...

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