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Child Maintenance and Other Payments Bill

My Lords, there will be clear routes by which the information and support service can be engaged to make contact with people accessing the benefits system or to encourage them to make contact with it. That contact is not only a once in a lifetime contact when somebody goes on benefit. As the noble Lord will be aware, if the benefit is jobseeker’s allowance, there is ongoing engagement and interviews. That is part of the structure of that benefit. There is generally less engagement for income support claimants, but there is still a process whereby the claim is refreshed. There is a process of ongoing contact by Jobcentre Plus with benefit recipients and by HMRC with claimants for tax credits. There is no easy or ready way for the information and support service to reach people who are not on benefits or claiming tax credits. That is no different from the current arrangements. At least under the new arrangements, with the obligation for there to be an information and support service, there will be much broader arrangements. I refer to all the good work that is going on between the DWP and the redesigned team working with the Department for Children, Schools and Families to build this broader network of support for families. One could build this network and infrastructure through children’s centres so that, when parents come into contact with other parents, other government agencies and local authorities, they can access information about child maintenance. That is a real advance on the current arrangements, as it is a route for reaching people who are not on benefit.