Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of taking into account both parents’ income in Child Maintenance Service calculations.

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) operates through broad rules set out in child support legislation which aim to provide the best overall outcome for all parents who use the CMS. However, we have to allow for sensible decision-making across a large range of cases and, therefore, the CMS cannot provide a bespoke service that is unique to a parent’s individual circumstances.

The calculation represents an amount of money that is broadly commensurate with the amount that a paying parent would spend on the child if they were still living with them, irrespective of the income or assets of the receiving parent.

The income of the receiving parent is not included as they are already discharging their parental responsibility through being the child’s primary care giver.

The Government is conducting a review of the child maintenance calculation to make sure it is fit for purpose. This includes updating the underlying research and considering how to ensure the calculation reflects current and future societal trends.

Options for proposed reforms are currently being considered. Any changes made to the child maintenance calculation will be subject to extensive public consultation, which we plan to publish late this year, and if made, will require amendments to legislation so would be subject to Parliamentary scrutiny.