City councillors call for urgent reform to protect children from child maintenance loophole

At Full Councill last Wednesday, the Liberal Democrat Group brought forward a motion calling on the Government to review how child maintenance payments are calculated when a paying parent moves in with a new partner who has children to form a new familial relationship.

Under current CMS rules, payments to a parent with full-time care of their children can be significantly reduced in these situations.

There are around 9,000 single parent families in Milton Keynes and nearly 1 in 3 children are growing up in poverty. For many of these families regular maintenance payments make a significant difference.

Lib Dem councillors say it’s unfair on the children from the original relationship, who with less support are worse off – a situation which is affecting families across the city.

A local survey of 102 women revealed that:

• 40% feel the CMS system is not fit for purpose
• 21% have seen payments reduced due to their previous partner forming a new blended family
• 18% don’t use the child maintenance service at all, often due to anxiety or frustration with the system

Councillor Kerrie Bradburn, Deputy Leader of Milton Keynes Liberal Democrat Group, who proposed the motion, said:

“This isn’t about blaming blended families; it’s about fixing a broken system. Too often, it’s the children from the previous relationships who lose out when a parent starts a new household. That’s not fair, and that’s not right.”

Elora, a local mum of two, who shared her own experience at Full Council, said:

“When I turned to CMS after my ex stopped supporting our children, I was told the amount he owed could be reduced because he’d moved in with a new partner who had kids.

“They told me to speak to him directly, even after I explained there’s a restraining order in place. I was devastated. My children who we both brought into the world shouldn’t depend on his new relationship.

“In my experience, the system punishes women for leaving abusive relationships. It keeps giving ways of our abusers to control us, even from a distance, through money and through loopholes like this.”

Elora, who works full-time and studies law, said the current system feels stacked against mothers, who like her do the most day-to-day parenting.

On Wednesday night, the motion received cross-party support and was passed unanimously.

The City Council’s CEO will now write to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions urging for a review of current payment rules. The Leader of Milton Keynes City Council will also write to the city’s three Labour MPs requesting that they raise this issue in parliament, and collectively, the leaders of the three political groups will press the Local Government Association to campaign for wider reform to the CMS system.

Councillor Kerrie Bradburn, continued:

“We believe all children should be treated fairly and that includes children from previous relationships. We’re asking our local MPs to stand up for families in Milton Keynes and ensure this loophole is finally closed.”