Selective Engagement: Who Gets Access to Ministers on the Child Maintenance Service?

Cross-party MPs call for action on 'broken' Child Maintenance Service

https://www.huntspost.co.uk/news/26008902.cambs-mp-raises-concerns-open-letter-child-maintenance/


There is an important question emerging in the debate around the Child Maintenance Service (CMS):

Who gets to speak to Ministers — and who does not?

This is not a minor issue of scheduling or preference.

It goes directly to how policy is shaped, and whose evidence is being heard.

Direct Access for Some

On its own website, Gingerbread confirms that it has taken part in roundtable discussions with Baroness Sherlock, providing input into discussions on CMS reform.

This includes:

  • Direct engagement with the Minister
  • Opportunities for individuals to share lived experience
  • Input into policy conversations at a senior level

There is nothing inherently problematic about this.

Stakeholder engagement is an essential part of policymaking.

Refusal for Others

However, at the same time, groups such as STOPSuicides UK (STOPS), which are raising evidence of:

  • Suicide linked to CMS processes
  • Elevated mortality among paying parents
  • Safeguarding failures and systemic risk

have been repeatedly refused equivalent access.

This is not a question of individual casework.

STOPS has consistently made clear that its concerns relate to:

  • Systemic operation
  • Safeguarding processes
  • Evidence of harm within the system

Not Discrimination — But a Serious Concern

To be clear, this is not necessarily discrimination in a legal sense.

There is no automatic right for any organisation to meet with a Minister.

However, that is not the end of the matter.

The issue is whether all relevant evidence is being given proper consideration.

The Risk of One-Sided Engagement

When engagement is limited to certain stakeholders, a risk emerges:

  • Some experiences are:
    • Heard
    • Amplified
    • Reflected in policy
  • Others are:
    • Excluded
    • Underrepresented
    • Not subjected to scrutiny

This creates the conditions for:

Policy based on a partial understanding of the system.

Why This Matters Now

This imbalance is particularly significant given:

  • The increasing reliance on stakeholder evidence in Parliamentary debate
  • The use of statistics derived from limited surveys as broader indicators of system-wide issues
  • Ongoing calls for stronger enforcement and expanded administrative powers

At the same time, there is growing evidence — from Parliamentary proceedings, Freedom of Information data, and investigative reporting — of:

  • Severe distress linked to CMS processes
  • Cases of suicide
  • Elevated mortality among affected individuals

A Question of Scrutiny

The role of stakeholder engagement is not simply to reinforce existing narratives.

It is to:

  • Test assumptions
  • Challenge official positions
  • Ensure that all relevant risks are understood

Where groups raising evidence of systemic harm are excluded from that process, a legitimate question arises:

Is the policy-making process being subjected to full and proper scrutiny?

A Simple Principle

This is not about taking sides between receiving and paying parents.

It is about recognising that:

The CMS can cause harm in multiple directions when it fails.

If reform is to be effective, it must be informed by:

  • Complete evidence
  • Balanced engagement
  • Willingness to hear uncomfortable findings

Final Point

There is no requirement for Ministers to meet every organisation.

But where:

  • Some stakeholders are granted direct access
  • Others raising relevant evidence are repeatedly refused

the issue is no longer one of access alone.

It becomes a question of whether the full picture is being considered.

And without that, meaningful reform becomes significantly more difficult to achieve.

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