Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-10-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what arrangements he has put in place to assess the effectiveness of the provisions in the 2012 Scheme for varying child support payments following changes in the income of the paying parent.

Caroline Nokes

The 2012 scheme includes an Annual Review of the Non-Resident Parent’s income. If their income is being determined on the basis of Current Income, they are legally required to report any increases of 25% of more in their income level. If they do not, a provision exists for the CMS to backdate a new calculation decision to the point in the year that the change occurred.

In addition, a Non-Resident Parent may choose to report a change of circumstance, including changes to their income, to the Child Maintenance Service, which will consider making a new decision about the amount of maintenance due reflecting those changes. Once a decision in relation to the reported change has been made, that decision is notified to both clients.

If either parent believes the decision is wrong, they may request the Child Maintenance Service revisit the decision (a Mandatory Reconsideration), after which they may appeal to an independent First-tier Tribunal.