We are looking at modernising how the Child Maintenance Agency operates, as the hon. Lady will know. If she has specific examples of constituents who have had undue waiting times, I will be interested in putting her in touch with the relevant Minister—he serves in the other place, as the House will know—for him to consider them.

I will happily look into the issues that the hon. Lady raises, but in the first instance I am sure that that would be a question for the SNP Government in Scotland to answer, to ensure that they are providing for their constituents. We have a strong track record of investing in local communities right across Scotland with our levelling-up funding and investment partnerships. She will know that housing is a devolved area, but I will happily look into the issue.

Yes, and I commend the hon. Lady for having that very successful female-opportunity-giving firm in her constituency. I am in Scotland later this month and I will try to visit her.

Our priority is to ensure that everyone, regardless of background, can pursue the exciting opportunities in STEM. That ambition fully extends to the hon. Members’ constituents in Paisley and Renfrewshire North and in Livingston.

I have not seen the motion tabled by the SNP—and I probably would not agree with it if I had. We are always focused on addressing the points that the hon. Lady has made. When it comes to the International Court of Justice, and indeed international humanitarian law, the Government’s view is not the same as hers, but she may rest assured that we keep these things under very close review.

We are clear that for a peaceful solution to this conflict there must be a political horizon towards a two-state solution. Britain will recognise a Palestinian state at a time when it best serves the objective of peace. Bilateral recognition alone cannot end the occupation.

I am very sorry to hear about the hon. Lady’s constituent and her tragic loss. I would be very happy to meet her at the earliest opportunity.

It is important not to conflate those two things. We are a member of the European convention on human rights—I have already mentioned article 13—but that does not, in and of itself, determine how one should give effect to those rights. We already have the Human Rights Act 1998. It is not at all clear to me that Scotland’s proposed human rights Bill would advance human rights across the United Kingdom, but of course we will listen carefully to whatever the Scottish Government decide to introduce.

The United Kingdom has a long-standing tradition of ensuring that rights and liberties are protected domestically and of fulfilling our international human rights obligations. We remain committed to a human rights framework that is up to date, fit for purpose and works for the British people. We have taken, and are taking, action to address specific issues with the Human Rights Act, including through the Illegal Migration Act 2023, the Victims and Prisoners Bill and the Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Act 2021, which address the vexatious claims against veterans and the armed forces.

During the Child Maintenance caseworker learning journey, there are several points where the material places emphasis on the importance of recognising the impact our processes have on our customers. These are highlighted in the Building a Confident and Capable Service modules below:

Telephony

Ensuring processes are explained well and that customers have the time to provide information regarding their circumstances.

Income

Emphasises the importance of recognising that changes in income can have a big impact on both parents. For the paying parent, the impact may be an income change is relatively large but does not breach tolerance. For the receiving parent, a 25% income change will make a significant difference to their maintenance payments. Learners are expected to be sensitive to these changes, support, listen and guide all customers through the process, signposting where required. The My Child Maintenance Case website is promoted to ensure all customers are aware of the ease of using our online service to report income changes.

Debt Negotiation

Recognising the emotions that the receiving parent goes through when payments are late or where the paying parent is unable or unwilling to pay. Learners are expected to engage with customers and make it as positive an experience as possible, manage expectations and signpost where required.

The six-step negotiation model is used to understand paying parent barriers, listen to their issues, signpost as required and set up reasonable, sustainable and affordable agreements for repayment of arrears. The issues with income which has not breached tolerance is again emphasised and examples given to demonstrate the impact on paying parents. Learners are aware of the Stop, Think, Act Strategy when setting up agreements to ensure they meet the criteria of reasonable sustainable and affordable.

Domestic Abuse

Module focuses on recognising domestic abuse and signposting the customer. Learners are aware that a family-based arrangement may not be appropriate in this situation. The customer may have concerns about sharing personal details, having to be in contact with the other parent or being traced. Learners are made aware of the provision of non-geographical bank accounts and the provision of collect and pay. They also understand when an application fee is not required. The module emphasises that our processes may cause distress and that learners must be sensitive to this.

Welfare of the Child

A dedicated topic which explains to learners the importance of considering how any of our discretionary decisions will have an impact on any child affected by our actions. The Welfare of the Child decision is revisited in every appropriate module throughout the learning to emphasise the importance of making correct decisions in the interest of children.

The customer charter emphasises the need to try to understand the customers circumstances and to treat fairly and with respect. Empathy is defined and expectations for its use, are made clear.

We are currently delivering a programme of work to embed improved 1-2-1 coaching and team level performance management and quality assurance activity across all delivery and enabling teams.

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) is committed to delivering our DWP Customer Charter promises and has created a customer-focused continuous improvement culture to support and achieve this. The customer charter emphasises the need to try to understand the customers circumstances and to treat fairly and with respect. Empathy is defined and expectations for its use, are made clear.

CMS Customer Experience Strategy involves bringing together all enabling colleagues and regularly reviewing lived customer experience using a dashboard of insight measures including the DWP customer experience survey and then turning this into actionable lessons learnt and improvement plans. Activity includes a programme of work to strengthen our performance management, quality assurance and 121 coaching.

We are also improving our communication with customers by expanding the facilities offered through our online self-service and web chat, allowing parents to access their account 24 hours a day, seven days a week at a time that works for them and simplifying the content of letters.

By improving our online services we’ll be able to use the most appropriate channel routing to get customers to the fastest course of action, increasing online usage and reducing the time spent on telephone calls.

The DWP is committed to becoming a more Trauma Informed organisation. We have a dedicated programme which will integrate the six key pillars of the approach as defined by the Office for Health Improvements and Disparities (December, 2022) which are safety, trustworthiness, choice, empowerment, collaboration and cultural consideration. Our programme looks at these six pillars within the contexts of application to our colleagues, our customers, our culture, and the context of our interaction- whether that is a physical, telephony, digital or postal interaction. There is significant emphasis within the design of the programme regarding what more can be done to prevent trauma and re-traumatisation for both our customers and our colleagues. We are learning from best practice demonstrated by organisations such as NHS Education Scotland, Work Services Australia and the Wales ACES Hub to shape the future prioritisation of this work

With response to the query around training, we have begun the roll out of an introductory module into the Trauma Informed Approach for all colleagues which is the first in a suite of products and a long-term commitment to upskilling around the topic of trauma. This learning will be complimented by products and initiatives that will enable the skills learned to be embedded into the business-as-usual operations of the whole department.

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) is committed to delivering our DWP Customer Charter promises and has created a customer-focused continuous improvement culture to support and achieve this.

CMS has made changes to the way they communicate with customers. This includes expanding the facilities offered through the online self-service and web chat, allowing parents to access their account 24 hours a day, seven days a week at a time that works for them. In addition, changes are being made to customer communication content, so they are clearer especially within letters.

CMS regularly review our resourcing strategy against business demands to ensure we best meet customer demand and priorities.

When DWP receive correspondence relating to a complaint, they aim to fully resolve or agree a resolution within 15 working days of receipt. Complex issues may take longer to resolve.

DWP triage complaints giving priority to vulnerable claimants who may be at risk, and those with benefit payment issues. We continue to investigate all complaints as quickly as we can and, as part of the triage process, we write or call those customers and honourable members where there may be a delay in answering their complaint. Case conferences are in place to find swift resolution to aging complaint cases. Complaints are used to provide customer insight to shape future services and drive improvements.

Since 2021, Child Maintenance Service complaints team has seen their response times to complainants steadily improve and are now responding to almost all complaints within the timescale.