My ex hasnt had any contact with our shared children since 2015. For years CMS just accured debt as he never paid, basically he would dodge collect and pay by changing job frequently. In mid 2020 he, for whatever reason, stopped working, and i started getting the auto deductions from his UC sporadically. Since then, i have probably got the payments 5 times a year, from what i can gather, he gets sanctioned by CMS and the payments are stopped during sanctions. I only discovered i didnt even get the payment monthly last year, as honestly it was such a small amount, i never kept track of it, but when i discovered months had passed i looked into it it as i thought he was dead or in prison, CMS eventually confirmed it stopped for sanctions. I think there may have also been periods where he stopped claiming as he found employment, but UC were unable to confirm this and my owed total on CMS never updated to more. So i dont know this for certain.This backstory isnt going to change, i wont get payments more frequently, i wont ever see the 5 years of debt owing that runs into the thousands, none of that will change. I just wanted to give some back story for my viewpoint, as a single parent who has been soley phsycially and financially responsible for shared children for a decade.
In 2020/21, UC for a single over 25 claiment was £323.22, the CMS payment was £29.13. Now in 2025/26, UC for a single over 25 year old claiment is £400.14, and the CMS payment is £29.20. This is a set deduction for everyone when claiming benefits, but in my case, this is for 2 children.
So he is getting £76.92 a month more, but his responsibilty for his children is 7p more over a 5 year period. In a year, he is "better off" by £923.04, compared to the 84p a year increase in CMS. Assuming he paid every month, which is yet to happen. 84p a year.
Now, the CoL has greatly increased, but it has greatly increased for raising children too. As far as i know, UC is the only benefit he gets, so whilst he will get a housing element on top of this, this is what he get for his living costs. There have also been CoL payemnts etc that have happened over the this time period, which obviously are exempt to CMS calculations. But the core figures for his monthly living costs, have risen much, much more, than his expected contribution towards his children.
Is it unreasonable to think, that the core amount deducted as support for children, should rise at the same rate as the increases to UC for living costs?