Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to enable unearned (a) income and (b) assets be considered in initial Child Maintenance Service calculations.

The Department has been conducting a review of the child maintenance calculation to make sure it is fit for purpose and reflects today’s social trends. The review will also consider the treatment of unearned income and assets within the automatic calculation.

Unearned income and assets can still be captured through the current variation process up until changes are introduced.