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The Human Cost

Deaths & Evidence

The harm caused by the Child Maintenance Service is not abstract. Researchers, MPs, and campaigners have documented a pattern of paying parents dying at rates far above the national average — and DWP has repeatedly refused to investigate the link.

Death rate of paying parents vs general population of same age
4,959
Reported deaths of paying parents recorded by DWP 2020–2022
~2,480
Estimated paying parent deaths per year — roughly 0.46% annually
0
Times DWP has acknowledged a causal link between CMS failures and parent deaths
Editorial & Parliamentary Evidence
Disability News Service
30 October 2025
'Shocking' figures show parents linked to DWP service face death rates up to three times higher
Analysis of DWP figures reveals paying parents die at rates up to three times higher than the general population of the same age. DWP stated it did not "recognise" the figures — but did not identify any errors in the calculations.
Disability News Service
August 2025
Call for inquiry over deaths of parents driven to despair by DWP's Child Maintenance Service
Campaigners call for a formal parliamentary inquiry after data suggests paying parent death rates are two to three times above average.
Equal Parenting UK
2025
MP raises case of paying parent who took his own life after CMS arrears errors
Labour MP Debbie Abrahams described a paying parent whose arrears were inaccurately assessed. The frustration ultimately led him to take his own life. DWP did not act on prior concerns raised by his mother.
Disability Rights UK
2022
Secret DWP reviews into deaths have more than doubled in three years
The number of internal DWP process reviews into deaths linked to benefit system failures more than doubled in three years — families are not even told these reviews are taking place.
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