To ask the Minister for Communities to detail (i) any plans he has to improve adherence to the timely payment of child support; (ii) any cross-departmental work that will be required; and (iii) what plans he has to improve temporary financial support for those parents who are not paid child maintenance regularly or on time.

As part of my department’s commitment to improve the Child Maintenance Service in helping to secure more child maintenance for qualifying children, and by extension improve adherence to the timely payment of child maintenance, my department recently secured Executive approval to add the Child Support Enforcement Bill to the Executive’s Legislative Programme.

This Bill makes provision for the introduction of administrative liability orders, which is intended to reduce the time it takes for the Child Maintenance Service to initiate its enforcement powers.

Once commenced by secondary legislation, the Bill’s provisions will allow the Child Maintenance Service to make an administrative liability order without requiring application to the Magistrates’ Court in Northern Ireland.

The existing court-based liability order process takes on average 22 weeks. It is estimated that the new administrative liability order process could be substantially shortened to 6 weeks.

Officials within my department are working closely with the Department for Work and Pensions, the Department for Justice, the Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service and the Enforcement of Judgments Office on the Bill, all with a view to developing an appropriate secondary legislation package.

My department will continue to engage with officials in those other departments, taking a collaborative approach in developing the policy, legislation and operational delivery of new administrative processes aimed at ensuring parents adhere to their legal responsibility in supporting their children financially.

My department is unable to provide temporary financial assistance for unpaid child maintenance and there are no immediate plans to do so. However, parents who might find themselves under financial pressure, and depending on their personal circumstances, may be eligible for social security benefits.