To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions over what time period the new arrangements for payments of child maintenance will be phased in; and what changes (a) have and (b) are planned to be made in the operational improvement plan for the Child Support Agency in the transition to a child maintenance and enforcement commission. (117278)

I refer the hon. Gentleman to box 3.1 on page 54 of the Child Maintenance White Paper “A new system of child maintenance” which sets out the expected timetable for transition to the new system.

The CSA is fully committed to securing the benefits of the operational improvement plan and has no plans to alter its content in view of the impending creation of C-MEC. Indeed, successful delivery of the operational improvement plan is needed to provide C-MEC with a strong foundation on which to build. On current plans, C-MEC will be established before the operational improvement plan is fully completed and at that point it will be for C-MEC to decide whether any changes should be introduced to the final phase of the operational improvement plan.