We asked the Department what use it was making of its enforcement powers.54 Parliament granted the Department additional enforcement powers in December 2018 and July 2019. The Department accepted that it has “a set of enforcement powers that are probably among the strongest in the world”, including the power to suspend driving licenses and passports, and in the most extreme cases prison sentences.55 Between January 2020 and September 2021 in England and Wales, the Department secured six suspe...

We asked the Department what use it was making of its enforcement powers.54 Parliament granted the Department additional enforcement powers in December 2018 and July 2019. The Department accepted that it has “a set of enforcement powers that are probably among the strongest in the world”, including the power to suspend driving licenses and passports, and in the most extreme cases prison sentences.55 Between January 2020 and September 2021 in England and Wales, the Department secured six suspended disqualifications from driving, no (immediate or suspended) passport confiscations and five immediate prison sentences.56 The Department told us tha Type: conclusion | Number: 26 | Response status: not_addressed Government response: 6. PAC conclusion: The Department is too slow to take effective enforcement action, leaving children without maintenance for too long and allowing child maintenance arrears to grow. 6. PAC recommendation: The Department should, within one year: • conduct operatio