Baroness Coffey corrected the Commons record on Topical Questions

16 November 2020 · Commons Hansard, Written Corrections · Work and Pensions

The words were spoken in the Commons on 19 October 2020. Baroness Coffey made the correction and printed in Hansard's Written Corrections on 16 November 2020. The correction replaced 2 figures (111,000, £187 million) with 1 figure (£362 million). Altogether 26 words differ between the two versions.

The question

A number of my constituents are receiving letters out of the blue saying that the Child Maintenance Service is writing off unpaid payments as part of a review of historical debt. Will my right hon. Friend tell me the basis for the review, what the criteria are for the cases, how many are involved, and by what means personal advance notice of the changes is being given to the people concerned?

Original and corrected words

Struck through: original only. Bold: correction only.

Original	Corrected
My understanding is that the policy relates to people who have had child maintenance arrangements for a very long time. There comes a point when there is an element of understanding the different debts. My hon. Friend will be aware that, in a way, this is a very odd arrangement, with the state effectively becoming the arbiter between two parents. The only people who lose are the children. That is why I encourage everybody who has a responsibility towards their ~~children—currently 111,000 children are~~ owed ~~£187 million~~ by parents ~~who refuse to pay up—to~~ get on and do the right thing by them. We should not end up having to rely on the state to arbitrate between two parents.	My understanding is that the policy relates to people who have had child maintenance arrangements for a very long time. There comes a point when there is an element of understanding the different debts. My hon. Friend will be aware that, in a way, this is a very odd arrangement, with the state effectively becoming the arbiter between two parents. The only people who lose are the children. That is why I encourage everybody who has a responsibility towards their children— as of the end of June 2020, £362 million in unpaid maintenance was owed by parents —to get on and do the right thing by them. We should not end up having to rely on the state to arbitrate between two parents.

Original

Corrected

My understanding is that the policy relates to people who have had child maintenance arrangements for a very long time. There comes a point when there is an element of understanding the different debts. My hon. Friend will be aware that, in a way, this is a very odd arrangement, with the state effectively becoming the arbiter between two parents. The only people who lose are the children. That is why I encourage everybody who has a responsibility towards their ~~children—currently 111,000 children are~~ owed ~~£187 million~~ by parents ~~who refuse to pay up—to~~ get on and do the right thing by them. We should not end up having to rely on the state to arbitrate between two parents.

My understanding is that the policy relates to people who have had child maintenance arrangements for a very long time. There comes a point when there is an element of understanding the different debts. My hon. Friend will be aware that, in a way, this is a very odd arrangement, with the state effectively becoming the arbiter between two parents. The only people who lose are the children. That is why I encourage everybody who has a responsibility towards their children— as of the end of June 2020, £362 million in unpaid maintenance was owed by parents —to get on and do the right thing by them. We should not end up having to rely on the state to arbitrate between two parents.

The correction in Hansard.

Receipt

Read from	https://hansard-api.parliament.uk/debates/debate/0A67616D-B468-4E1B-9CB3-D56D19D7C294.json
Date read	15 October 2026
SHA-256	`3ec1a1dc067fcb35d98a9e17c345b2985de4a1f88fe21c1587a4432282888e78`