Direct Pay – where parents manage payments directly between each other – is a central pillar of the new statutory child maintenance system, designed to minimise state involvement in arrangements to encourage collaborative parental relationships and reduce spending.

But despite its central role in the new Child Maintenance Service, there is very little information on effectiveness of Direct Pay. The DWP does not track whether payments are made, meaning it cannot report on compliance in nearly seven in ten (66 per cent) of its cases. This research fills an evidence gap on this major part of the new maintenance system, using a series of in-depth interviews with single parents.

Published in March 2019 by Gingerbread.