When child maintenance pressure is affecting your wellbeing, it can help to know what support government guidance says should be available. DWP has published guidance on supporting customers at risk, and the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) has its own instructions on client contact, call recordings and safety.
This is public-interest information, not an allegation about any individual or office. It is a practical guide to what the published documents say, and how you can use that information.
If you may harm yourself, or feel unable to stay safe, please seek support now.
- Samaritans: 116 123, free, 24/7
- CALM: 0800 58 58 58
- NHS 111: for urgent, non-emergency health support
- 999 or A&E: if you or someone else is in immediate danger
The DWP Six Point Plan
DWP’s Additional Support for DWP Customers booklet, updated in March 2024, describes a Six Point Plan for staff who identify a customer who may be at risk of harming themselves. DWP’s Advanced Customer Support publication sets out the six parts:
- Take the statement seriously.
- Summon a colleague as a support partner.
- Gather information.
- Provide referral advice.
- Summon emergency help if needed.
- Review the incident.
DWP says the plan may apply during a telephone call or a face-to-face contact. It may include contacting emergency services if there is immediate risk. The practical point is simple: you should not have to make a formal complaint or use particular wording before staff can recognise that you need support. The published booklet describes the plan as relevant when staff identify a customer who may be at risk.
A note on versions: the current internal Six Point Plan is documented as Version 15.0, and Protecting claimants at risk as Version 11.0 (see the deposited copies: Six Point Plan V15.0 and Protecting claimants at risk V11.0). Version 15.0 states that staff must assume any declaration is a real intention to act, and that after the incident is reviewed with a manager and recorded in the customer's history, a note stating that the Six Point Plan has been invoked is pinned to the customer's record. The trigger is ANY indication of suicide or self-harm, whether the contact is formal or informal.
Six principles for supporting people at risk
DWP's Protecting claimants at risk guidance (Version 11.0) sets out six principles to guide support and protection:
- Empowerment and participation: support people to make their own decisions.
- Prevention: act to help prevent harm before it happens.
- The amount of involvement: gather enough information to make informed decisions, without intruding more than necessary.
- Protection: provide support when help is needed.
- Work together: involve local organisations or authorities where appropriate.
- Accountability: explain what is being done and why.
These principles are a reminder that safeguarding should be considered thoughtfully and in context. They do not promise a particular outcome in every situation, but they do set out a framework for making decisions and providing support.
What DWP says it does to build support
The March 2024 booklet describes practical support measures across the department. It says Advanced Customer Support Senior Leaders coach and mentor DWP colleagues working with customers experiencing, or at risk of, vulnerability. It also reports a network of more than 450 national visiting officers and mandatory two-day mental health training for new service-delivery joiners; by August 2023, 51,000 operational delivery colleagues had undertaken that training.
DWP also publishes learning from serious cases. Its Advanced Customer Support: Learning and improving from serious cases series explains how internal reviews identify lessons and actions for service improvement. These are descriptions of DWP’s published processes, not a guarantee of how any individual contact will be handled.
CMS-specific guidance: recordings, calls and safety
CMS’s Decision Makers Guide, Annex A: Client contact provides more specific information about contact with the service.
On suicide threats, it says: “If a suicide threat is received by post, this will be referred, by the DM's team leader to the Special Client Records (SCR) team. For suicide threats received by telephone, the DM must alert their TL and follow CMS Threats of suicide instructions.”
The guide also confirms a practical right for customers: “A client can record a telephone conversation or an interview without obligation to tell CMS they intend to do so.”
For calls recorded by CMS, Annex A states that GDPR gives individuals a legal right to see or receive a copy of their personal data, including recorded calls. It also warns: “telephone calls not allocated to a case on the CMS system are usually deleted after three weeks.” If you want a recording, it may be sensible to make your request promptly.
The same document refers to the Keep Customer Interactions Safe (KCIS) framework for situations where a client is judged unsafe. It concerns staff protection and safe interactions; its presence in the guidance does not, by itself, establish that a customer has done anything wrong.
A practical guide for fathers contacting CMS
If you are struggling, say so clearly
If you feel overwhelmed during a CMS contact, you can tell the person you are speaking to that you are struggling and need support. The published DWP guidance says staff should take indications of risk seriously, involve a support partner, gather information and consider referral or emergency help as appropriate. Knowing that framework exists may make it easier to ask for help.
Keep your own record
Write down the date and time of calls, the number you used, the main points discussed and any action agreed. Keep copies of letters and messages. A clear, factual timeline can help you explain what happened if you later need to ask for a review.
Request recordings quickly
If you want a copy of a CMS call recording, make a written data request and identify the relevant call as clearly as you can, for example, by date and approximate time. Annex A confirms the right to request recorded personal data, while warning that unallocated calls are usually deleted after three weeks.
If you believe the guidance was not followed
Start by raising the concern with CMS and explaining what happened, when it happened and what you would like done. DWP’s complaints procedure says you can ask for a review by the DWP complaints team if the initial response does not resolve the issue. If you remain dissatisfied after DWP’s final response, you can contact the Independent Case Examiner (ICE). ICE normally requires you to complete DWP’s internal process first and contact it within six months of the final response. If you remain unhappy after ICE, DWP’s procedure explains how to ask an MP to refer your complaint to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.
These are routes for review, not a presumption that the guidance was or was not followed. Keep the issue factual and retain relevant correspondence.
The gap between policy and experience is worth discussing
Published guidance cannot answer every question about an individual interaction. The difference between what policy says and what a person experiences is nevertheless a fair subject for public debate. Fathers deserve to know that support frameworks exist before they need them, and to understand the practical steps available to them.
If you are facing CMS challenges, preparing for court or looking for supportive community guidance, join us at www.fathersrights.co.uk. We are committed to empowering fathers, strengthening father-child relationships and championing equal respect.
Fathers United. Rights Respected.
Every Dad Matters.
This article provides general information, not legal advice. For advice about your circumstances, consider speaking to a qualified legal adviser.