STOPSuicides UK Campaign Group
Request for a Public Inquiry into the Child Maintenance Service and Associated Harm
To: Debbie Abrahams MP
Chair, Work and Pensions Select Committee
House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA
From: STOPSuicides UK Campaign Group
Date: 19th August 2025
1. Introduction
We write as STOPSuicides UK Campaign Group, a coalition formed in response to mounting evidence of serious mental health harmand suicides connected to the Child Maintenance Service (CMS).
Our group includes:
• Direct family members bereaved by suicide in CMS-related cases;
• Individuals personally pushed to the edge by CMS processes; and
• Campaigners and researchers who have compiled years of evidence on the systemic failings of statutory child maintenance. Together, we bring both the authority of lived experience and the weight of documented research.
2. Contradictions in Ministerial and Departmental Positions
2.1 Ministerial Acknowledgement
On 18 January 2023, during oral evidence to the Work and Pensions Committee, Viscount Younger of Leckie admitted:
“I am already aware, having seen some correspondence, that I’ve had to… sign off, on some absolutely tragic cases and I think it’s absolutely appalling that … cases can lead to people taking their own lives.”
This was a clear ministerial acknowledgement, on the Parliamentary record, that CMS cases have been linked to suicides.
2.2 Ministerial Denial
By contrast, on 2 May 2023, the Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work stated publicly:
“The Department strongly denies any suggestion of a causal link between the Child Maintenance Service and suicide.”
2.3 Departmental Safeguarding Frameworks
• Internal Process Reviews (IPRs): Explicitly investigate deaths “including by suicide” where DWP actions may have contributed. In 2022–23, 47 IPRs were completed, 2 involving CMS. In 2023–24, 53 IPRs were accepted, 3 naming CMS as theprimary service line.
• Serious Case Learning Notes: Include CMS cases where paying parents declared intent to self-harm, requiring staff to record “declarations of attempted suicide.”
Thus, the Department’s own frameworks contradict its blanket public denial.
3. Wider Context
• Inquests have previously linked statutory child support enforcement to suicide, including the Ian Sandywell case (2015) under the CSA.
• FOI-based analysis indicates paying parents experience elevated death rates compared with the general population.• Testimonies from our members confirm CMS processes continue to inflict severe psychological harm.
4. Request for a Public Inquiry
We note the forthcoming Parliamentary Inquiry into the CMS, which will rightly focus on shaping reforms and putting things right for the future. However, STOPSuicides UK emphasises that this is not sufficient. Justice must also be delivered for those who have already suffered irreparable loss or lasting trauma as a result of CMS systems.
Accordingly, we request that the Government establish a full Public Inquiry, led by an independent chair, with powers to:
1. Investigate whether CMS operations, systems, and processes have contributed to suicides, attempted suicides, or serious mental health harm.
2. Examine the adequacy of safeguarding and escalation processes, including IPRs.
3. Hear evidence from bereaved families, survivors, campaigners, and independent experts.
4. Determine accountability for past harms and recommend measures to provide recognition and justice.
5. Conclusion
There are now multiple, unreconciled positions on the record: a ministerial acknowledgement of CMS-linked suicides, a departmental denial, and internal review frameworks that treat suicide as a material risk in CMS cases. This contradiction undermines public trust and leaves bereaved families without recognition or justice.
While the Parliamentary Inquiry is vital for shaping future reform, only a Public Inquiry under an independent chair can address past harms and ensure justice for those already affected.
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