Asked by: Joanna Cherry (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the affordability of the child support system for people who are self-employed.
Answered by Priti Patel
Even after parents have separated they continue to have financial responsibility for their children. We believe that the calculation for Child Maintenance is reasonable and proportionate, being based on the level of the non-resident parent’s income, regardless of whether they are employed or self-employed.
The formula for the Child Maintenance Calculation is based primarily on the non-resident parent’s gross taxable income, where possible using information derived from HMRC. The level of the calculation is intended to be an approximation of what the non-resident parent would spend if the child lived with them.
Asked by: Joanna Cherry (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect on single tier pensions on people contracted out of the State Earnings Related Pension Scheme.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
Contracting out of additional State Pension for Defined Benefit schemes will end on the introduction of the new State Pension from 6 April 2016. The impact on individuals is set out in the Updated impact of the single-tier pension reforms (July 2014) and can be found at the following link: