Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to reference to the Child Maintenance Service standard practice of making reassessments when there is a 25 per cent reduction in income, what estimate the Child Maintenance Service has made of the number of non-resident parents whose income has been reduced by 20 per cent under the Government's furlough scheme in response to the covid-19 outbreak.

The CMS has not made any estimate of the number of non-resident parents whose income has been reduced by 20% under the Government’s furlough scheme.

The Government recognises that the income of many separated parents has been affected by the public health emergency. Parents should continue to financially support their children by paying their child maintenance. At the same time, liabilities should remain affordable for paying parents at a time of substantial and rapid fluctuation in incomes.

The scheme is designed so that liabilities remain consistent over the year, with limited changes. The calculation is reviewed annually, and generally only changes during the year if a parents’ income increases or decreases by at least 25 per cent. This balances consistency for children with support for parents experiencing a reduction in income.