Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many applications were (a) made and (b) granted to parents with care for a top-up maintenance order under the Children Act 1989 Schedule 1 as amended in the last year for which data is available.

The Child Maintenance Service does not hold the information requested. This is because there is no legal requirement to capture the number of ‘top-up’ applications submitted and or granted to a paying parent in calculating child maintenance.

It may be helpful to explain the maximum weekly gross income the Child Maintenance Service can take into account when calculating maintenance is £3000. A receiving parent can make a ‘top-up’ application directly to His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals service in respect of income above £3000. However, the Child Maintenance Service cannot take this into account in the main calculation.