The Department has repeatedly failed to achieve savings targets for the child maintenance scheme over the past decade and again risks overpromising on the benefits of its current transformation programme. The Department has reduced the cost to the taxpayer of administering child maintenance by £172 million from £494 million in 2011–12, to £322 million in 2020–21, in line with its smaller caseload and new income from charging. However, the Department has failed to deliver on its promised effic...

The Department has repeatedly failed to achieve savings targets for the child maintenance scheme over the past decade and again risks overpromising on the benefits of its current transformation programme. The Department has reduced the cost to the taxpayer of administering child maintenance by £172 million from £494 million in 2011–12, to £322 million in 2020–21, in line with its smaller caseload and new income from charging. However, the Department has failed to deliver on its promised efficiency savings. The amount of money it needs to administer child maintenance remains £88 million higher than the £234 million promised by the Department i Type: recommendation | Number: 8 | Response status: not_accepted Government response: The government disagrees with the Committee’s recommendation. The department’s Transformation Programme introduces a range of changes that improve the efficiency of key activities, including the automation of high-volume changes, improving the online offering t