Evidence to us has raised particular concern about the fraudulent practices employed by some paying parents to reduce maintenance calculations but the Department has not made an estimate of the level of undetected customer fraud and error within the system. We repeat the Public Accounts Committee’s recommendation that the Department should assess the risk of fraud and error within child maintenance and publish, as part of its annual report and accounts for the child maintenance scheme, a frau...

Evidence to us has raised particular concern about the fraudulent practices employed by some paying parents to reduce maintenance calculations but the Department has not made an estimate of the level of undetected customer fraud and error within the system. We repeat the Public Accounts Committee’s recommendation that the Department should assess the risk of fraud and error within child maintenance and publish, as part of its annual report and accounts for the child maintenance scheme, a fraud and error estimate and reduction target rates. Type: conclusion | Number: 5 | Paragraph: 38 | Response status: under_consideration Government response: The Department legally relies on data from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) and its own benefits data to assess 91% of Paying Parents earned income and benefit status, which are key parts of the maintenance calculation. This makes it difficult for most parents to misstate their income. Nonetheless, eithe