Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential (a) fairness and (b) sustainability of the Child Maintenance scheme in calculating payments from self-employed paying parents whose businesses had a short-term, exceptional increase in profit in tax year 2020-21 due to deferred costs and government grants relating to the outbreak of covid-19; and what assessment she has made of the effect on those paying parent's (i) finances and (ii) mental health where their business may have subsequently experienced a downturn.

The Child Maintenance calculation is designed to be fair and affordable, while ensuring that the paying parent contributes a significant proportion of their income to support their children.

For self-employed paying parents the income used to calculate child maintenance payments is usually provided by HMRC and is the gross taxable profit of the parent’s business, for the latest tax-year HMRC hold a complete record. The taxable profits of a business represent the amount from which a business owner can support themselves and meet their outgoings.