Children: Maintenance

(asked on 21st June 2022) - View Source

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure that a means test on the income of both parties is taken into account when determining the levels of child maintenance payments; and if she will make a statement.


Answered by
Guy Opperman Portrait
Guy Opperman
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
This question was answered on 27th June 2022

Child maintenance liabilities are calculated based on the taxable income and assets of the paying parent and represent an amount of money that is broadly commensurate with the amount a paying parent would spend on the child if they were still living with them, irrespective of the receiving parent’s income or assets as they are the child’s primary carer.

Applying a means test to both parents would result in complexity in the calculation process which would delay getting money to children.

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